Philippe Petitgenêt/François Martig - P.A.S. (Univers International)A 3" disc containing two tracks sourced from harbor sounds recorded on the Rhine in and around Strasbourg.The first carries both fluttering and throbbing drones as well as a deep, buried two-note sequence and pulse beneath footsteps, radio voices and other, vaguer local sounds; it's more about the electronics (or processed sound) than field recordings, though and is very moody and attractive, somewhere in a Fennesz zone but an exceptionally good one. Very cinematic, could even see this as working with a Béla Tarr sequence, a fine piece. The second track foregrounds the harbor sounds a bit more but still provides strong buttressing with drones fuzzy and thin. No real pulse, however, making for a looser, more amorphous and unforced work, bearing a wide sonic palette but managing to cohere well enough, the dock-groaning sounds midway through being especially captivating. It closes with birds, serendipitously tying it back in with the preceding disc.A strong effort, quite rich.Brian Olewnick @ Just Outside +++++(…) On a smaller scale we find the phonography of the harbor area of Rhine in Strasbourg as recorded by Philippe Petitgenet and Francois Martig, both of whom I never heard. Apparently this is a place in Strasbourg with industrial activities, waste space and empty spots - I think we all could imagine such a harbor; think of any police series, especially those depicting a harbor at night. Maybe this could have been any harbor, anywhere in the world. We hear the drones of machines, the far voices of traffic controllers and their walkie-talkies, and somehow, oddly enough, a curious bump (in the night), especially in the first half, which gives this a most curious musical feel; something you don't hear on your average phonography release. The piece has two distinct sections; the first is the more 'melodic' section, while the section represents the more pure 'phonography' of ships in the harbor, bouncing against the wall; ropes in the wind; some birds; those sort of images belong more to the second part. Quite a nice piece of a desolate space, yet vibrating with activities, far away. Some fine recording too. Quite a nice piece, altogether. Very imaginative.Frans de Waard @ Vitaal Weekly