Arnito - Thébaïde

Arnito

Thébaïde
self-released; 2014

3.9 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Arnito is a French guitar player and composer who recently released his twelfth album entitled Thébaïde. It’s a nine-song album that revolves around the guitar and is not only about the notes the guitar is playing but the spaces in between. Thébaïde is an album that has more in common with minimal music that anything else and bears comparison to artists like Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Along with minimalism Arnito flirts with dissonance as well as harmony. He explores both extremes with his guitar. Whether the music piece is founded in harmony or dissonance it feels meditative. What I mean by that is just listening to the music puts you in a somewhat meditative state. 

The first song “Chrysalide” is in my opinion the most meditative song on the album. It starts with Arnito hitting the perfect succession of notes that come in and out of existence. In the background is the most subtle hum that makes the guitar notes and the space between feel seamless. It’s a beautiful song. Stillness, peace and tranquility are words that come to mind when listening to the song. You would think that one might be bored after twenty minutes of extremely sparse music but I felt quite the opposite.

“Jeu d'ombre, pt. 1” is the first exploration with dissonance. The song seems like a picture fit for a movie like “Eyes Wide Shut” or any David Lynch film. The third track “Marche des hibiscus” is yet another deviation. There isn't much space between the notes but instead it relies on jazz-inspired melodies. It’s relaxing and seems like a perfect song to start your morning with. 

“Un guide, une étoile” is where we hear Arnito flexing his technical muscles. His guitar picking is precise and fluid. The guitar smothers you in warm overtones that instill a sense of nostalgia and understanding. Arnito revisits dissonance with “Jeu d'ombre, pt. 2” He tinkers with strings and bends them finding the semitones between the notes. He closes the album very much in the same way he opened it. Except this time he does it in under four minutes.

A lot of music sounds similar to me and sometimes I just think it’s because a majority of musicians use the same instrumentation. For example, how many possibilities can a three-piece rock band have? Listening to this album proves this notion wrong. Thébaïde is a testament to the countless possibilities that are within the guitar itself. His  guitar takes you on a journey through peaks and valleys and different emotions and in the end makes you realize the possibilities of sound are almost infinite. 

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