Ludi

Chassol has been refining his compositional style for nearly a decade. His ‘ultrascore’ approach incorporates sounds as part of a large-scale soundtrack. Previous albums Indiamore and Big Sun offered journeys through India and Martinique. Ludi, however, focuses on an activity: play. It is informed by Herman Hesse's novel The Glass Bead Game. The book attends to a perplexing game played by scholars in a fictional town. While no one knows the rules, they austerely commit to unravelling the multifaceted puzzle. Ludi is just as eclectic and just as impenetrable.

Across 30 tracks, Chassol journeys through Japanese arcades, rollercoaster rides and basketball matches. Lead single ‘Savana, Céline, Aya (Pt 2)’ is initially charming, with playful piano lines combining well with snippets of children's voices. Soon, however, it descends into odd rhythmic contortions and reiterations of phrases. This is continued on ‘Concerto Pour Batterie et Cour de Récréation’, an ambitious nine-minute foray with multiple sections. Rather than inspire excitement, these movements are too incidental and diegetic: Chassol's adherence to the ‘ultrascore’ suffocates the composition. Ludi is intended to be experienced as part of a fully realised audiovisual live show. As an album, it is distinctly uninviting.