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CD review Bix Medard "Take a deep breath"
Bix Medard – Take A Deep Breath (Altair Musik)

By Dominic Valvona, for God is in the TV zine (UK), May 31, 2011.

The amorous cooing and slowly unfolding, finely-tuned, sculptured soundscapes of Bix Medard prove a challenge to define or sum up in any review. Part conceptual, and partly recondite yearning pop; the pairing of Norwegian chanteuse flute player Bix, and her Belgian sparring partner Peter Clasen – also known as Medard – are often filed under the “nouvelle chanson Française” tag, which goes some way towards explaining their brand of Euro-rich synth and live instrument sound. Bix switches between dialects; breathlessly wooing, dictating or incidental meandering in French, English, Italian and Japanese; all the while a much understated, yet acutely arranged and executed, trip-hop backing track underwrites each of the 12 oblique traversing songs.

Strains of Portishead can be heard throughout, as well as the occasional reference to Holger Czukay’s U-She collaboration – especially on their more melodic synthesized string moments – and even nods to Pil. On the moronic slow-jazz thriller, ‘Apart’, they rework Blondies ‘Sunday Girl’ for the ambient trance market, and filter the Pola X and Toxic Affair soundtrack compositions of Scott Walker, with a touch of Outside era Bowie, for ‘Sur Les Marches’.

Bix Medard’s second opus is pretty generous, with a running time of nigh on an hour, though their indolent coquettish drifting musical suites can be laboured – there’s at least four tracks that could safely lose a minute, before they fizzle out and run their course. ‘Take A Deep Breath’ isn’t just an album title, it’s also an instruction for the experience you’re about to partake of: submerged in a post Factory Records haze of drowning electro art.

So far one of 2011′s more inventive and intriguing albums.


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CD review Bix Medard "Take a deep breath" by babysue.com
Bix Medard - Take A Deep Breath. (CD, Altair Musik, Trip Hop).
Bix Medard is the duo comprised of Norway's Bix (vocals, flute) and Belgium's Peter Clasen (sound sculptor, bass). True to the claim of the press release that accompanied this disc, these folks create music that sounds something like a cross between Bjork, Serge Gainsbourg, and Portishead. Take A Deep Breath is this band's third full-length release. It's chock full of electronic dub/trance music with the main focal point being Bix's breathy seductive voice. Folks into underground electronic bands from the 1990s will find a lot to love here. The music is slightly hypnotic and otherworldly while retaining enough musical elements to keep the listener's attention from start to finish., The band's last disc was in CMJ's Top 50 in 2010...this one will no doubt be immediately embraced by college kids as well. Soothing trippy cuts include "Les Fleurs Mecaniques," "Apart," "Are You Ready?", and "L'ascenseur."

CD Review by http://www.babysue.com (Mai 2011).

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CD review Bix Medard "Take a deep breath"
Bix Medard: Take A Deep Breath.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011.
Bix Medard, the idiosyncratic Belgian/Norwegian duo return with another great album of atmospheric grooves and cinematic, trippy beats. They’re a talented bunch this lot. Not only are they skilled musicians but even better cunning linguists, singing as they do in English, Japanese, French, Norwegian and Italian. Take a Deep Breath is edgier, darker and more stark than last year’s excellent Y Dress.

Despite being more heartfelt and personal, this album, in terms of actual feel, is colder, like a broken-hearted machine. Peter Clasen has excelled himself with his bass playing and guitar riffs most notably on Are You Ready? the stand out track, clever, cool, dramatic and inventive.

The title track Take a Deep Breath sees them at their most quirky and weirdest. Apart is a gothic love song, the sultry vocals have an esoteric almost Portishead feel. There’s some nice touches throughout especially the garage psychedelic guitar and haunting flute which really add to the modern city soundscape. Fans of Bix Medard won’t be disappointed with Take a Deep Breath as Bix and Peter continue to sculpt the sonic landscape. But sadly Bix Medard don’t play gigs like most bands, they tend to be so hip they only do fashion shows or art instillations, so unless you know some arty supermodels you’ve no chance of seeing them. I think that’s quite post modern and I like that.

www.bixmedard.com

(4/5)

Review by Charlie Brown

Read more: http://www.themusiccritic.co.uk/2011/04/bix-medard-take-deep-breath.html#ixzz1MVaLXWeW


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Electro Trip-Hop duo Bix Medard releases new CD
BIX MEDARD
new CD " Take a deep breath "
out March 2011

Norwegian singer/fluteplayer Bix and Belgian soundsculptor/bassplayer Peter Clasen are 2 atypical artists who combine their talents to form Bix Medard, now 3 years ago. Generally tagged with labels such as "nouvelle chanson française" and "Trip Hop" the duo explores an electro pop with a dark gothic edge. Imagine, Björk, Serge Gainsbourg and Portishead having a jam together in the studio.

Bix Medard is a slowly but steady growing project. No special effects. Music, visuals, and emotions. Their previous album 'Y-dress?' has made Bix Medard a CMJ (College radio, USA) fan-favorite. The duo climbed their way up to number 29 on the CMJ RPM charts in Mai 2010.

"Take a deep breath", 3rd album by Bix Medard released in March 2011. 12 very personal tunes, dark lyrics on slow trippy beats with new-wave-influenced basslines and electro-gothic arrangements. Breathy vocals performed by Bix, mostly in French, some in English, Japanese or Italian.

Bix, born in Sweden of Anglo-Norwegian parents, grew up in France and Italy. She spent her childhood in Rome and her teens in Paris. She speaks French, English, Italian, Norwegian and Japanese. The one constant in this symphony of languages is the voice of the flute, which she began playing in early childhood.