Igorrr – Baroquecore EP

12″, Aentitainment, 2010
www.myspace.com/igorrrrrrrrrr

Here at Connexion Bizarre we have had nothing but admiration for Serre Gautier ever since we received a copy of “Poisson Soluble”, his first release as Igorrr. Since then, he hasn’t ceased to come up with surprising material, even considering one already expects from him the most insane, genre-defying mash-up music. Released as a 12” limited-edition vinyl on the German label Aentitainment, “Baroquecore EP” is no exception.
Through half a dozen tracks totalling a bit over twenty minutes, Igorrr takes the listener on a twisted thrill ride. Once again, music genres seemingly at odds with each other are seamlessly intertwined and weaved into an insane but coherent tapestry. Pretty much anything from classical baroque and waltzes to metal, jazz and even country & western elements are thrown into a blender, shredded and spread out with enough beats, fucked-up vocal material and (seemingly) random sound samples added for consistency, cohesion and coherency.
If the above sounds a bit disconcerting (and perhaps it should) it should be noted that Igorrr’s music in general, and “Baroquecore EP” in particular, isn’t just random sampling and rearranging. If, on one hand, Gautier has a knack for chopping up and rearranging sound material, this would be useless if he wasn’t remotely knowledgeable about his source materials – as his compositions as Igorrr clearly show him to be.
Though most of “Baroquecore EP” is included in the full-length “Nostril” (released roughly at the same time on Ad Noiseam) the exclusive track “Terrine” makes it worth it (even if it only rates a 9 on the 1-10 madness scale while the rest of “Baroquecore EP” rates an 11). And then there’s the wicked eye-candy artwork that is so characteristic of Igorrr’s releases…
Without a doubt, “Baroquecore EP” is an essential release (and immediately made it to my “best of 2010” list when I first heard it).

[9/10]

— Miguel de Sousa