Gilles Laval - 2025 - 100 Guitares sur un Bateau Ivre

(39:43; Cuneiform)

Not only is this a fascinating album musically, but the performances must be insane, as what we have here is the latest album by Gilles Laval who has been inspired by Arthur Rimbaud’s 1871 poem, ‘Le Bateau ivre’. But Laval has taken this to the next level as not only has he written seven instrumental pieces inspired by the poem, but then he has worked with 20 core guitarists who appear on this album. When it is performed those 20 are spread among four groups of 25 guitarists of varying different ability levels, with the audience sat in the centre of the four stages. Laval has long been an advocate for this type of mass participation, but what is intriguing to me is that even if the listener knew nothing about the background and just listened to the music, they would come away understanding there was something quite special going on even if they did not know what it was.

Rimbaud may have felt he was on a drunken boat, but to the listener the sounds being produced makes one feel they are dark deep of the sea, listening to the moans and groans and sounds of the ocean, with whales calling to each other. There are so many layers and styles within the beauty that it transcends just the one sense, and instead is incredibly visual, and one can certainly imagine this being used in an art installation alongside film of our incredible sea life. It takes the listener to a very different state of reality, and I can imagine that being sat between the stages would be an amazing experience. It is definitely music which needs to be played on headphones and really listened to, as there is so much going on with guitars and atmospherics joining together to create something which is packed full of emotion and power. This is art rock on a whole new level. 

Kev Rowland, February 2026

Links:
https://www.savarez.com/gilles-laval
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/