CD, Impulsive Art, 2010
www.myspace.com/pleq
Bartosz Dziadosz is a Polish experimental musician. Since 2008 he has released a surprisingly large amount of records (although his work is never botched) on various labels under the moniker Pleq. His style could be described as a fusion between drone, electronica, glitch and modern classical music, which he personally defines as “glitch and melancholy”.
Pleq’s music is very delicately crafted. The production is crystal-clear, allowing the listener to perceive a multitude of details and subtleties. Because, even if his tracks are most of the time smooth and mesmerizing, they’re also complex and full of numerous layers, and deserve to be listened to in optimal conditions. The piano always plays a central part in the tracks’ construction, but this opus also contains quite a lot of strings, and even some trumpet (on “Raindrop”) which brings a nice jazzy feeling to the album. Dziadosz also welcomed a few guest vocalists this time : Emi Hosokawa, also known as Hiiro-Tent, who sings in Japanese on the opening title, “Black Dog” (and who has previously collaborated with Pleq on his album “The Fallen Love”), and Natalia Grosiak, a Polish trip-hop and electro-pop singer who softly vocalizes on “Raindrop”. The whole thing is of course wrapped in lots of pads, glitches and electronic rhythms, which harmoniously blend with the more classical aspects of the composition. The album also features three remixes (from Tapage, Nebulo and Spyweirdos), which are a little more rhythmical or noisy than the originals.
The general feeling of this record may seem essentially melancholic and cold but, after a few times hearing it, you might be surprised and realize it’s also full hope and brightness, full of nuances and deep emotions. Actually, the best expression to describe how I felt while listening to it is the title of one of the tracks: “Swell Bliss”.
[9/10]
— Olivier Noel