- An epic adventure into the depths of techno, Krautrock and more from one of dance music's most legendary and enduring figures.
- Laurent Garnier has still got it. Four decades into DJing and making music, his sets remain brilliant and his original tracks sound fresh. Part of it must come from his voracious music listening habit, but it's also something innate. Most famous for cuts like the lengthy "The Man With The Red Face," the Frenchman has a knack for making long, snaking epics that go to unexpected places. 33 Tours Et Puis S'en Vont, his new album, is full of them—it clocks in at almost three hours long in its most complete digital format.
That's a lot of time to sit and listen to a "techno record" (in his words). But tracks like the tense, pseudo-orchestral "Au Clair de la Tune" beat the Afterlife crew at their own melodramatic game. Garnier balances just the right amount of suspense, uneasy melodies and a dextrous disco bassline. It's one of the best melodic techno tracks I've heard all year, and it's just one of many on the virtuosic adventures on 33 Tours Et Puis S'en Vont.
The key to Garnier's brilliance is how he approaches dance music as a compositional form rather than loops to piece together. In other words, his tunes are more like tracks than songs. How else to explain the incredible, 14-minute "Reviens la Nuit," which builds to a delirious hi-NRG climax with the strength and speed of an endurance runner, staying captivating and dynamic throughout? Or the steamy "Let the People Faire la Fête," a bouncy house number anchored by a Reese bassline with clever snare work that feels like bodies grinding in and out of orbit on the dance floor? Or "Sado Miso," which starts out downtempo before blossoming into a full-on drum & bass track that sounds like Ed Rush doing skweee? These aren't club tools, that's for sure.
One would think that having ten-minute track after ten-minute track would become exhausting, but Garnier has enough tricks up his sleeve to keep it entertaining. He started DJing in the heyday of The Haçienda, after all, so he knows it's more about feel than genre—which is probably why he invites French rapper 22Carbone to spit over a track that spikes an Ibiza-ready drum pattern with anxiety-inducing sirens, and then later features late Suicide frontman Alan Vega on "Saturn Drive Triplex." The sounds range from vintage to ultra-modern, and sometimes both at the same time. This is the music of someone who tours the world circuit and understands how today's dance floor works while carrying the know-how of the OGs.
It's this sense of mastery that defines 33 Tours Et Puis S'en Vont. In so many other producers' hands, the pseudo-guitar synth on "Saturn Drive Triplex" might come off cheesy, but in Garnier's grip it adds just the right amount of muscle. It's earned through patience and pacing. Over and over again, it's hard to imagine anyone else bridging the gap between Amnesia, Berghain and Nowadays like Garnier does. A lot like the man himself, his music doesn't quit—it just keeps going and going and going, working on you until you give in. And while the long-time DJ has pledged to slow down a little (and cancelled some gigs because of an unspecified health issue), 33 Tours Et Puis S'en Vont is a reminder that his spirit and musical talent can't be diminished by time, age or any other circumstances.
Tracklist01. Tales from the real world feat. Alan Watts (Vocal Version)
02. Liebe grüße aus Cucuron
03. In your phase feat. 22Carbone
04. Reviens la nuit (Original Mix)
05. Saturn Drive Triplex feat. Alan Vega
06. Sado miso
07. Au clair de ta lune
08. Sake stars fever
09. Multiple tributes (to multiple people, for multiple reasons)
10. ...et puis s'en va!