Benoit Delbecq: Silencers: balance de blancs

Benoit Delbecq is the member of the Silencers who will be known to most modern / free jazz fans..  The CD is released by the Norwegian SOFA outfit, and they have a solid list of CDs that frequently leans towards abstract  music.   This CD came out in 2011 and features a pan european line up with Norwegian trumpeter Kim Mhyr, German drummer Nils Ostendorf and  Frenchmen at the piano (Delbecq) and drums , (percussionist Toma Douband).

Musically, the musicians fit together seamlessly.   SOFA website tells us that the musicians have been together since 2006 and it fits with the balance they achieve. The development of sounds moves along seamlessly and there is no sense of overcrowding.
But what type of music am I describing?  To me the closest reference is the industrial soundscapes created by Polwechsel on Hat now Art CDs but Silencers are somewhat less abrupt, less brutal. If anyone recalls the haunting sounds that accompany Anthony Hopkins as he searches around back streets of London looking for the Elephant man in David Lynch's film they will know what to expect.  Sounds emitting from a large industrial machine room  sounds highly unflattering and might repel all but the converted but when produced by musicians with instruments it is most engaging. The musicians are good at recreating collages of sound rather than single sources or drones. You cannot help but start imagining where you might hear such noises.   You imagine you are listening to the drone of electrical transformers coupled to steam hissing from steam engines along with pipes creaking under pressure.  At other times you hear the rustling of furniture in an upstairs hall or chains being collected together. Often which instrument is creating the particular sound  is impossible to determine but this only adds to the sense of intrigue. Musical tones from harps and inside pianos and trumpets of course appear from time to time but the collective journey through a collection of sonic landscapes is the best and thoroughly satisfying effect.
Five tracks give you five different environments to imagine. None overstay their welcome or become tiring. Instead you can't help but wonder Where am I ? inside the lower decks of an old steamer?  within a factory producing steel girders or bells? a dark corridor with pipes being beaten by bamboo rods?  in a jungle perhaps?

I recommend people take the tour. I recall some band  used the term Magical Mystery Tour for one of their LPs... shame,  it would suit this record perfectly.