New York-based French-born double bassist and composer Florent Ghys,
who studied music theory and composition at New York University and at Princeton University,
originally developed a technique of
stuttering and deliberately childish minimalist repetition for instruments and voices, an atomized counterpoint that slowly builds momentum.
Musiques d'Ameublement (2004) already contains demonstrations of this
method like Promenade Exercice
besides an early version of Rupture, a rousing string sonata like
Marilou,
a vibrant Laurine 7 for strings, and the adagio for strings
L'air du Baobab.
Zapostoc (2005) contains the ethereal vocal rondo'
L'Auberge de Loupiac and Laurine 4 for string counterpoint.
The inferior Ghys Junior (2006) contains his stately 5.
Baroque Tardif vol 2 (2007) contains the Michael Nyman-esque Hommage a` Kevin Volans and the flamenco-ish Pochoir in which he plays a guitar and the voices engage in whirling counterpoint.
Musics For Dimensions (2008) contains the mournful sonata for chamber strings Laurine, the dissonant and
quasi-industrial Rupture and the rain-like piano sonata Cinq Pianos.
La Contrebasse Meteorologique (2009), credited to
Antisolo, is another minor collection.
The EP Baroque Tardif Soli (2009) contains compositions later included in the album Baroque Tardif.
Panoplie (2009) collects pieces composed between 2007 and 2009, notably the twelve-minute Pour Catherine.
References Croisees (2010) collects brief pieces composed between 2008 and 2010.
Nouvelles Petites Merdes (2011) contains music of 2006.
Baroque Tardif (2011) contains the Brazilian-tinged Clignotants and especially Quatrieme, in which the double bass is tuned to sound like a cello and that seems to end in a flamenco dance.
Television (2014) marks a superb convergence of
prog-rock, minimalism, classical music and folk music in pieces like
Melody from Mars and Teamwork, while
Terminal even incorporates sound effects of musique concrete.
Bonjour (2016), recorded in 2013, documents a "low string band", a quintet that plays basses, cello, guitars, drumkit, pitched percussion, with all players also singing.
The albums
Ritournelles (2022)
and
Mosaiques (2022) are two sides of the same coin. The former is a rather
trivial take on ambient music.
The latter, instead, chops up and remixes vocal fragments in "songs" like
Hana and Meteos, while coining a cybernetic form of ethnic dance
in pieces like Tennis and Party.
Anyway, both albums are rather minor additions to his canon.
