Efficient electronic music with Nova Materia

Paléo Festival 2019 - Lauriane Pipoz

Nova Materia is a Franco-Chilean duo whose electronic music is influenced by post-punk. Blending machines and raw percussion, they got the Détour stage dancing at the Paléo Festival on Saturday July 27.

Seeing this fringed couple, dressed head to toe in black, arrive with all manner of metallic paraphernalia, I'm forced to confess my skepticism. Caroline Chaspoul and Eduardo Henriquez, also behind the post-punk band Panico, have launched their electronic music in a rather quiet, even flat manner. I found it very difficult to get into the swing of things. Scanning the stage with my eyes, I noticed all the strange pipes, pebbles and metal plates hanging behind the two artists.

In particular, a sort of half-meule placed on a stove at the height of the singer's face attracts my attention as a Valaisan. With no raclette to hand and baffled that I hadn't yet seen a good concert that day - what on earth am I going to write about? -I leave after two songs to get a beer from the stand next door. All the while keeping an eye on the duo, just in case.

And then, as I turned around, armed with my trusty partner in thirst and festival, I was stunned to see the crowd pouring into the little marquee. I rushed inside to witness the band's immersive, hypnotic electro explode, and the mood never let up. The two compadres mix in the middle of a smoky black and blue atmosphere, beneath flashes that bring us into the very special atmosphere of this occult duo, passionate about playing with unusual materials.

While there's a lot to be said for Nova Materia's metallic accessories, I'd say they're mostly excellent DJs. These high-pitched, galvanized sounds certainly add value, but they're not really central: it's more like a trait of originality, which sounds good but doesn't form the identity of their music. At times, I even found these sounds dissonant with the electrifying electronic tones of their machines. But for the most part, it sounded good, and at the right moment: a precise touch from a sort of cavernous timpani/gong placed at the back of the stage, or a few well-placed percussion beats at the right moment in the song, cut through the repetitive tones characteristic of electro.

So let's make no mistake, it's this last genre that forms their DNA for me: and it works! The audience was in a kind of unchained trance. By the first third of the concert, the tent was packed and didn't empty until the end. Their electronic music also at times combined rock sounds and familiar motifs at the start of a track, before the bass added salt to this hypnotic cocktail of basic but still effective melodies, repetitive percussion rhythms, sci-fi sounds and very few lyrics. On that last point, I can't really say they were words: at times, they sounded almost like barking. Strange, but above all strangely hypnotic.

In the end, I think it's hard to define their music. What I can say is that both musicians knew exactly what they were doing. In fact, the finale was extremely pleasant: the two artists let their repetitive sound run on automatic as they took to the front of the stage. When they returned behind their turntables/metal instruments, they seemed to improvise their percussion totally at the right moment and, above all, in total harmony with each other; improv or not, the impression of naturalness was pleasant and impressive. I suggest you go and see them to judge for yourself. As for me, I didn't go and get another beer until the end of the concert.

Write to the author: lauriane.pipoz@leregardlibre.com

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