01	Solmhinarm						05:38
	02	Erstaz						08:08
	03	Bleu Cerise						07:34
	04	Ayahusca						06:09
	05	Oceane						04:09
	06	Kossmokardak						16:23
	07	La Blonde						07:52
	08	D.Dar #1						06:34
	09	D.Dar #3						07:22

4/3 DE TRIO
Ersatz
2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Track listing
1. Solmhinarm (5:38)
2. Ersatz (8:15)
3. Bleu Cerise (7:35)
4. Ayahusca (6:07)
5. Oceane (4:00)
6. Kossmokardak (16:18)
7. La Blonde (7:22)
Bonus Tracks:
8. DDar #1 (6:33)
9. DDar #2 (7:22)

Total Time: 69:10
Line-up

- Didier Pegeron / drums, programming, guitars (8-9)
- Guillaume Fenoy / guitars, piano (3), vocals (7)
- Roman Gayral / bass, trumpet & piano (3)
- Sebastien Gramond / keyboards, piano, synths, Mellotron, organ, violin (3)

Guests:
- Emmanuelle Cattin / violoncello (1)
- Thierry Reocreux / contrabass (1)
- Nicolas Janot / conductor (1)
- Raphael Cartellier / Tenor saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, flute, mandolin (3)
- Elsa Klajnberg / vocals (7)
- Olaf Schweitzer / violin (1)
- Jason Menoc / violin (1)
- Martine Fagot / Alto (1)
- Mathilde Chavent / Alto (1)
- Lucie Cheveyre / violoncello (1)

Label : CD Musea FGBG 4562.AR-Fra-2004


4/3 de Trio
Ersatz
Musea (FGBG4562.AR)
France 2004

Guillaume Fenoy, guitar, vocals; Sebastien Gramond, keyboards, guitar; Romain Gayral, bass; Didier Pegeron, drums; Rapahel Cartellier, saxes, flute, mandolin; with Olaf Schweizer, violin; Jason Menoc, violin; Pascal Adoumbou, violin; Martine Fagot, viola; Mathilde Chavent, viola; Luci Chevaleyre, cello; Emmanuelle Cattin, cello; Thierry Reocreux, bass; Nicolas Janot, conductor; Elsa Klajnberg, vocals

Tracklist:
1. Solmihnarm - 5:38
2. Ersatz - 8:08
3. Bleu Cerise - 7:34
4. Ayahusca - 6:09
5. Oceane - 4:09
6. Kossmokardak - 16:23
7. La Blonde - 7:52
8. D.Dar #1 - 6:34
9. D.Dar #3 - 7:22

total time 69:54

brandon

The rather clunkily named 4/3 de Trio is a French group that has been around since the mid-1990s, playing a guitar-led style of prog that blends the melodicism and grandeur of symphonic rock with the firecracker soloing and instrumental interplay of fusion. Although I've not heard their debut, Faiblesse, Ersatz is a huge step up, if the mixed reviews I have read of said debut album are any indication. This is a consistently entertaining, well-composed, and energetic slab of symph-fusion unique enough to make obvious comparisons difficult.
I'm reminded, superficially, of a more guitar-centric DFA, though various parts of the album strike me as borrowing sounds from bands as diverse as Fusioon and latter-day Isildurs Bane. The opening track ebbs and flows beautifully, opening romantically with a large string ensemble before the drama really stars and guitarist Guillaume Fenoy enters with his first guitar solo of many on the album. This particular solo, like many of his others on this recording, is full of pyrotechnics and aggression, but manages to fit nicely within the confines of the composition, driving the progression of the song instead of offering a break from it. Through the solo, the violins reach a frenetic pace before the whole ensemble slows briefly and then comes to an abrupt halt, disintegrating into scrapes and squeaks and random piano tinklings before coalescing again with a lyrical, melodic theme on electric bass, and ending with a climactic bang.

Following this promising opening is the title track, which is the most dramatic and symphonic (and keyboard-dominated) of them all. Elsewhere is "Oceane", a piece which consists entirely of Fenoy on classical guitar, and which breaks up the pace nicely before the band launches into the album's epic, "Kossmokardak." My favorite track, however, is "Ayahusca," in which the band makes best use of tension-and-release techniques. "Ayahusca" is prodded onwards by both insistent, propulsive bass work and spacy guitar work, building through various solos and feeling almost as if it's structured more like a post-rock epic than a brief fusion workout. The payoff comes in the form of a surprisingly brief hard-rock riff that is made all the more powerful by its brevity.

While Ersatz is no doubt an album that centers around the deft and diverse axework of Guillaume Fenoy, it is well-paced enough, and throws in enough curveballs, that it never seems monochromatic or dry. While "Kossmokardak" and "Bleu Cerise" don't have quite enough meat to hold my attention through their entire lengths, virtually every other piece (excepting the bonus tracks, which are hard-rock guitar numbers of significantly lesser interest) is immaculately composed: powerful solos are contained within logical frameworks that offer a sense of progression and movement that I find lacking in many fusion pieces.

Sadly, drummer Didier Pegeron has passed away, but hopefully Ersatz will not be this band's parting document. But if it is, we should be thankful that it exists at all. No sophomore slump here!

1-29-05

(c) ground and sky