A long-held wish of Argentinian musician, guitarist, composer and improviser Luis Ianes was to record with Noel Akchote, the French guitarist. The collaboration that became Seuil began with the premise of two guitars, with no stylistic constraints.
Lane provided some compositions as a starting point while recording in Paris and Bretagne and it went, as they say, from there. “There is a sense of immediacy and vulnerability in this moment of time and history that dyes this music, and I think could be felt throughout,” Ianes said. “I think this music tries to leave some doors open. It doubts and questions itself.”
Considering there was the precept of no constraint, Seuil is curiously constrained in terms of it feeling almost as if two perfect gentlemen with guitars have sat down to a musical interlude and conversation. Most of the tracks have a gentleness about them, and the album is an entirely pleasant affair. However, A second listen reveals a lot more going on than melodic phrasing. There is a back-and-forth between the two musicians, and the recording is, in fact, a deep, meaningful conversation.
“El Camino de Vuelta” and “El Camino de Ida” are gentle, lilting journeys through delicate phrases, offering reflections, hesitations and distractions which, as Luis Ianes told me, “are inherent to any road we take, to go or come back.” “El Camino de Ida,” or “Ida’s Way,” is also a reference to the 2015 novel by Argentinean author Ricardo Piglia.
“Learning to Dance (Suite)” is not a suite in the true sense but musical ideas that Ianes wrote to interact with each other. “Not so long ago, I was performing in Tango Venue [a Milonga, in Old Windsor, UK] and observing the highly technical figures and display of togetherness of certain dancers,” Ianes said. “Not being a dancer myself, I felt kind of bored, when suddenly I spotted a couple trying to dance or learning how to dance, and I felt it was much more interesting and appealing to me than the perfect dancers showing their prowess. The beauty of two bodies moving with their ‘natural unintelligence.'”
The track has interesting musical undercurrents, and perfectly encourages images of dancers, coming together mostly but occasionally tripping over each other’s feet as contrapuntal phrases are inserted, the careful start escalating into a mad-cap romp as the two guitars vie with each other, in a melodic but counterbalanced and at times slightly off-kilter number that brings a smile to the listener, especially when you know what inspired the number.
“Singing Sweeney” is a simple song Ianes penned as homage to Superwolf, the 2005 collaboration between music producer and guitarist Matt Sweeney (Skunk, Chavez and Zwan) and guitarist, singer and songwriter Bonnie “Prince” Billy. It is short but very sweet in its delivery, a thoughtful, contemplative number with gorgeous harmonies and a subtle change at one point to add just enough sense of memory and longing to make it pull on the heartstrings.
“Cinq Points de Vue (Five Points of View)” is constructed from five distinct improvisations, or “five distractions” where we can hear short stints of the developed themes in the track. It is possibly the highlight of Seuil and provides different pathways for the ear and brain to follow. One idea is countered with another, creating five asides, five little conversations with differing time patterns and rhythms – yet everything is welded together in tonality and a sense of both musicians having the same destination in mind.
The short “Freedom” is perfectly named and closes out the album with rising chords and harmonics, with just a twist of solidity from both musicians to endow it with depth and allure.
“Seuil” means threshold in French, and this album feels like just that, so the name suits it. There is a sense of contained energy, and listening to the music is at once relaxing and stimulating. The music is gentle, yet contains something unheard, unseen and yet to be discovered.
- Luis Ianes and Noel Akchote – ‘Seuil’ (2025) - April 12, 2025
- David Dower Trio – ‘Sonder’ (2025) - March 23, 2025
- James McGowan Ensemble – ‘Reaching Out’ (2024) - December 18, 2024
