The Latest Made to Measure realise No* 44 presents The Stubbleman. Stubbleman is the alter-ego of maverick composer and producer Pascal Gabriel, who to me- till now, was completely unknown performer. But as a great admirer of Crammed M2M series from early 80s and still dedicated fan I had to check it out and I am glad I did. If you like the Ambient music of 70s, 80s and 90s. Brian Eno, Tuxedomoon, Bang on Can, Hector Zazzou this is proposition for you !<>From humble beginnings in a Belgian punk band, Pascal moved to London in 1979 to form a string of art-school experimental bands, until he discovered the joys of the recording studio and gained recognition as an innovative producer & songwriter.
Initially known for producing and co-writing two of the landmark tracks which spearheaded the ascent of a new wave of electronic music in the UK, Theme from S’Express (S’Express) and Beat Dis (Bomb The Bass), he moved on to composing with, producing and mixing a huge spectrum of artists from Wire, Can, Miss Kittin, Erasure and Goldfrapp to Dido, Natalie Imbruglia, Bebel Gilberto and Kylie Minogue.
After many year in the wilderness of pop, Pascal has re-embraced his adventurous electronic ambient past with a project combing a lo-fi, cinematic mixture of found sounds, field recordings and modular synthesizer, often accompanied by live piano.
Stubbleman’s panoramic debut album, Mountains and Plains, is inspired by a journey across the USA, during which Pascal recorded many sounds and idea which were used as a basis for eleven tracks, which were elaborated in his studio at the foot of Mount Ventoux in southern France, and mixed in London with his old friend and accomplice Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Tuxedomoon, Grizzly Bear).
A true sonic road trip, the album evokes the poignant delights of endless train tracks, sleepless cities, nostalgic ruins, big skies, high deserts and lost junctions (which Pascal also captured in videos which will illustrate his live shows), keeping at all times an affectionate eye for the humanity which populates these diverse landscapes.
The music in Mountains and Plains can be perceived as a kind of contemporary take on the golden era of ambient music in the ’70s, while entertaining a relationship with some current trends of instrumental music which sit on the border between electronic and classical/minimal.
Stubbleman Mountains & Plains (crammed MTM 44 CD, LP, digital)
out April 26th on Crammed Discs Made to Measure series
Stubbleman will be performing concerts from spring 2019 on wards, with a line-up comprising Pascal Gabriel, a second musician, a VJ and an array of small robot instruments designed and built by Pascal.