Benoit Pioulard’s Stanza series began in 2015 as a daily method of inward gazing during a particularly dreary Seattle winter. Each morning, with a Telecaster and tape recorder, he would build a gauzy, lo-fi loop in a new tuning, creating improvisations of uniform length as a kind of sonic journal. Stanza I comprised a week’s worth of these hazy experiments, and was initially issued as a limited CD-R to accompany the Sonnet LP (kranky, 2015); Stanza II was recorded that spring, showcasing a more verdant, deep forest fullness; and Stanza III followed as a short run 10” lathe cut, to complement The Benoit Pioulard Listening Matter (kranky, 2016).
In the years since, Pioulard has crafted several renowned collections featuring this uniquely blissed-out tape saturation and ambient grace – including Lignin Poise (Beacon Sound, 2017), Sylva (Morr Music, 2019), and Bloodless (Disques d’Honoré, 2021) – alongside monthly exclusives for his Bandcamp subscribers, and notable collaborations with Rafael Anton Irisarri (as Orcas), Viul, and The Humble Bee. Following the death of his father, the completion of his dream-folk opus Eidetic (Morr Music, 2023), and a collision of personal struggles, Pioulard refocused his musical efforts as a means of meditation, resulting in the long-form movements of Stanza IV.
Opening piece, “Xaipe”, floats through a soaring cycle of shifting chords that are equal parts hopeful and melancholy, underscored by roiling bass and slowly drifting bells that lilt between the speakers. Its title – pronounced “KY-ree” – is a Greek salutation, often used as spiritual encouragement before a difficult journey. “Ersatz Immortality” bears a shadowy, shoegaze splendor, as wisps of Moog synthesizer and stacked vocal harmonies creep in from the edges, creating a sense of looming uncertainty that dissipates in the final moments, as the low end fades into a sweetened tenor.
“Fog Dialect” begins with breathy waves of pitched-down melodica, long trails of softly howling guitar, and a patiently ascending bass loop, until it relents into a reflecting pool of hushed, echoing thumb piano surrounded by the nighttime glow of crickets. “Steeples Writhe” closes Stanza IV with reverence, reprising the hum of analog synthesizer above a diffuse, decayed vocal loop, whose gentle tone succinctly conveys the introspective origins of the album.
Since its inception as a set of simple, unadorned guitar works, the Stanza series has grown in scope and complexity, resulting in some of Pioulard’s most deeply layered and striking instrumental pieces. Ten years on, Stanza IV exhibits a beautiful, ambitious evolution of sound and texture, placing its creator among the most reliably compelling fixtures of the experimental realm. Pressed in a limited edition of 300 copies, it is also the first in the series to appear on vinyl, and is the tenth release on the artist’s own boutique label, Disques d’Honoré.
Stanza IV is accompanied by an album-length collection of reworks that is as sonically diverse as its roster, which features Markus Guentner, arovane, Clarice Jensen, James Devane, MJ Guider, and Viul. From the monumental drone-building of Guentner’s interpretation of “Xaipe”, to the stirring cello interplay of Jensen’s take on “Ersatz Immortality”, and the off-kilter, glitchy groove propelling Devane’s translation of “Steeples Writhe”, it offers a remarkable reimagining of the source material from some of the most inspiring musicians in the modern underground.
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