Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts - They Only Come Out At Night

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  • Monsieur Guillaume (of the Coutu Dumonts) could hardly have planned a better twelve months – every release he’s had out since the second half of 2007 has been a winner, from anthems like ‘Sous l’Abre’ to ethno-cribbing percussion samplefests like his Paraiso 91.90.70 EP for Oslo. Then there’s the year-highlight remixes: his, of Shackleton’s ‘Next to Nothing’, and Audio Werner and Philip Sherburne of his ‘Les Gans’. Entre Guillaume et Risquée to seal the year—well, financial year I suppose, given that it’s June—with the Gremlin-y They Only Come Out at Night EP (don’t feed ‘em after midnight). Guillaume’s side is strongly reminiscent of early Luciano, replete with the Latin melody and its slight melancholia – indeed, this record would find a welcome home on Cadenza. Ironically (given the title) this track is perfectly pitched for early, early mornings – it’s a sunrise track that’s ‘just Ibiza enough’ if you dig, and there’s also this really cool tension between the melody (that wants to swoon) and the drums (which really, really want to stand up and dance). Then along comes Marc Leclair on the B, for an ultra-extended thirteen-minute excursion through places that sound both distinctly nocturnal and, yes, even slightly spooky. Leclair’s version is hardly a remix—at least in the way Shep Pettibone might understand the word—it’s more like an entirely new track. This is no bad thing, as it’s a doozy, combining stylistic elements of his earlier Horror Inc. material (plenty of space, loads of microtextures, ultra-tight editing and arrangements), with the wandering bassline and wigglin’ eyebrow melody of his old, pre microsampling stuff for Perlon like ‘The Uninvited Guest’. On first rinse (on record, through the speakers) the track feels much, much too long, but on the headphones the way it transitions between the parts sounds incredibly deft, and the two suprises (the break in the middle, then the vocal at the end) remind you of just how good Leclair can be when he puts his mind to it. I wish he’d do that more often. So there you have it: Guillaume caps off a great twelve months with an EP that should not only consolidate his reputation as one of the most interesting artists on the block at the moment, but also adds another exceptional remix to his catalogue. Well done, everybody.
  • Tracklist
      A They Only Come Out At Night B They Only Come Out At Night (Sometimes They Come Back "Horror Inc." Remix)
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