Mazu�, Matthieu - Cortex

That the Brain, as an organ for information processing retrieval and distribution, is the star of an album by the name of Cortex, is no surprise. What is suprising is how badass and funky this brain turns out to be-how eager for escapade and adventure 8230; Cortex-connections fire and throw bodies outward to the sun and snow; the listener is plugged into a triangular nervous system that delights in the jolts and joys of bracing mental ski rides, zigzag accelerations down a mountain of pitches and rhythmic knots executed together, synchronized yet indepebdent. Another surprise� in this context of cerebral cyborgs and collapsing data�is the vocal quality of the piano playing: the rhythms and phrasing are true to human speech, to the sense of something being said with urgency: there is laughter in the grooves. It�s old and new at the same time, machines are desacralized, the glitch is savored but the sounds come from Jazz. (Michael Attias)