Tapis Bleu

It’s been a year since last updating the news section on here. Things have happened: recording, scoring, live shows in Boston, Ma. and Burlington, Vt.

I have moved to the quiet Vermont countryside to record my next record, and after several false starts and attempts, a needed change.

I will be playing live with Mark Knuffke in support of his great new album, Sepulveda. We’ll be on WGDR 91.1 (in Plainfield) on January 4th. And we’ll be playing live in Boston sometime in February. More details to come, and more shows as well.

I’ve also had the great pleasure of working with some great acts this year: Gravel, The Cush, Ryan Power, E1 Studio Collective, Most Bitter, Katie Trautz, and Adam Payne.

A book is being written about Circus of the Shattered Monkey, and I’ll be featured in several chapters. More details to come.

Thank you for listening. Please be well.

Circus of the Shattered Monkey The Soundtrack

The Circus of the Shattered Monkey and it’s founder Rich Van Vleet, have released a compilation CD, Le Cirque: The Soundtrack contains 20 tracks that includes artists who have played the traveling northeast music festival over the course of its two year history.

A remastered version of my song All Is Well appears, courtesy of studio genius Casey Rea. Listen to it on myspace.

It’s one of two Burlington, Vt. acts on the comp, the other being Sugarblue. Other acts of note on the disc include Hypaspace, Ryan Fitzsimmons, Ben Blanchard, and The=Equation.

Buy a copy from cdbaby.com

Northeast Performer magazine – April 2006.

Circus of the Shattered Monkey @ the Grog, Newburyport, MA.

Sean Altrui, while not what you would call “typical” by any stretch of the imagination, grabs hold and won’t let go. By far the shortest set, Altrui played unique and haunting songs. Accompanied only by a keyboard and drum, Altrui’s sound can be described best as “new age,” and although the melody itself is repetitive and droning, it is in no way boring or uninteresting. The beating of the drum and the atonal sounds emanating from the keyboard lull the listener into a calmed and dreamlike state. Although more “sound” than music, Altrui’s performance draws the listeners in and stay with them long after the show has ended.

- Stacia Waraska.

Seven Days – 12 October 2005.

A compilation CD can be a blessing or a curse. While such discs provide an opportunity to sample a variety of performers, some are spotty at best. Back in the ’90s, local comps were ubiquitous; the trend seemed to peter out in the new millennium. By then, many had grown weary of these clubhouse congeries and their over-zealous executors. Still, a decent Vermont comp is cause for celebration, and Mondays At 10 PM is one such collection.

This particular batch of tunes originally provided the soundtrack to filmmaker David Eaton’s cable-access program “Zero Power Hour.” Compiled by dark-pop auteur Sean Altrui, Mondays is one of the best multi-artist releases I’ve heard in some time.

Opener “Upstate in the Woods / Grown Up Out the Doyt” by Oblong Bahl kicks things off in quasi-comical fashion. The tune’s lo-fi breakbeats, funky bass figure and raspy vocals come together in a tongue-in-cheek ode to redneck living. “Not much to do on a Saturday night / ‘cept go down to the bevvie for to get some Coors Lite / Watch a little NASCAR, go to Denny’s for a bite / That’s right,” the lyrics proudly exclaim.
Mark Knuffke’s pulsating electronic composition “Buell St.” threads organic instrumentation with computer sequencing in an enjoyably dusky romp. “So Green” is a lovely number by singer-songwriter Jenn Karson. With her maudlin guitar figures and lilting, girlish vocals, she comes across like a goth Suzanne Vega.

Altrui’s serpentine “Remission” is nearly perfect, a shadow-pop blend of quavering guitars and tribal percussion. His evocative baritone has a lot in common with that of Doors front man Jim Morrison, a similarity Altrui exploits to stunning effect.

UFO vs. Squirrel’s “13_V.S.A._1022″ is an experimental groove track, replete with chiming bells and odd ring tones. An instrumental, the song’s post-rock vibe and left-field textures are similar to those of Chicago sound-blenders Tortoise. “King Fisher” by Joe Englert and Will Haslett doesn’t fare quite as well, however. An over-the-top prog extravaganza, the cut’s wanky keyboards would probably make Rick Wakeman blush. Picture This turn in a world-beat-inspired number, while bass whiz Aram Bedrosian drops some low-end theory on closing track “Thumpty Dumpty.”

It’s great to hear such a strong batch of tunes from lesser-known local artists. And, unlike some collections, Mondays At 10 PM is thematically consistent and well sequenced. Check out the release party on Friday, October 14, at the E1 Studio Collective, 416 Pine St., in Burlington.

- Casey Rea, sevendaysvt.com/music/review_this

Freelance review – 26 August 2005.

Upon entering the Candle Horn Churchyard, you are confronted with moderately-paced meandering saxophone lines whose sweet sentiments persuade you to take further steps into the jungle of sound. The droning beat and long-toned bass lines also placate the listener and lure you into the depths of Bauhaus-like vocals and sparse electric guitar. This sweet and sour contrast is a river running through the foundation of Sean Altrui’s 2001 solo effort, though the front cover illustrations of fleshy plant life shows no obvious signs of hydration. While the music in many instances contains major chord progressions in the experimental rock vein, the vocals often push against this optimism, much like early, obscure Pink Floyd records (though not nearly as complex). There are even well orchestrated background speeches, whistles and sirens that are also rather Floyd-esque. Throughout the CD, trickles of slow rising synthesizer echo their compliments as if behind a veil of cascading vines and clean and processed guitars take obstinate roles against powerful, provoking lyrics that speak of depression and war among other topics. At times percussion takes up the call of the jungle that is the Churchyard, transporting you to a far away pagan land that carries with it an air of anxiety. Overall the disc is a well-produced, ambitious work that is a refreshing combination of the retro and modern world and a testament to the paradox that contrasting elements are necessary to definition.

- Julie Pinsonneault
Music Editor
Syracuse New Times.