HAVARD, Christophe, EMMANUEL LEDUC, JOHN MORIN, JULIEN OTTAVI "DigitalLiveRadioSession" CD Fibrr (France) 2001 Christophe Havard (radio, tape, motors, contact microphones, mini-disc), Emmanuel Leduc (no input mixing board, radios feedback, sampler), John Morin (turntables, sampler), and Julien Ottavi (laptop) met in February 2001 for an improvised set of electronic music. The result is "DigitalLiveRadioSession", a title that refers, not to a live broadcast over digital radio, but to the instruments used. With two radios and the vocals and other such samples emitted from turntables and tape player, an overall atmosphere of information and media permeates through the static. Tinny, noisy tones, rather than severe, sub-frequency glitches, consume the majority of the session. Halfway through, a soft drone emerges with equally soft bursts of music and other sound. Unfortunately, this only lasts for a few minutes before harsher tones enter. As improvised (and consequently aimless and erratic) music, this is quite good. Capturing bursts of sound from outside media results in interesting sonorities that cannot be achieved with just the other instruments used. The fact that this is French radio allows me to listen to the manipulated human voice without being bothered by words. (I'm glad I didn't pay attention in French class.) The main drawback is that, although many different sounds are explored over 46 minutes, high frequencies dominate while bass frequencies are nearly absent. (Matt Roberson)