JOBO is the French free improvising duo of elusive, self-taught guitarist (and alto and bass sax player, electric bass and modular synth player) Heddy Boubaker and drummer (including electronic percussion) Yann Joussein, whose sonic interests range from free jazz to noise music, and from minimalist music to post-rock. He is the co-founder of the Paris-based Coax Collective and the label that released the debut album of JOBO. The album was recorded in December 2022.
Abécédaire (Alphabet learning book) offers 26 short pieces in alphabetical order from A to Z, that realize Boubaker and Joussein’s fearless sonic vision of making a joyful noise with wild, energetic and uncompromising free improvisation. Boubaker and Joussein focus on each piece on a simple, raw motif, grind it into exhaustion in super fast and dense dynamics, spit its remains and jump head first into the next one. There is no time for reflection, even for breathing, or diving deeper, just immediate, nervous action and reaction. The longest pieces are a little longer than two minutes.
Boubaker has developed a unique vocabulary on the electric guitar and he challenges Joussein’s manic polyrhythmic patterns with its twisted, thorny lines, as Joussein keeps Boubaker on his toes with his reckless energy. The interplay is wild but precise and compact, and Boubaker and Joussein never stop searching and exploring more modes of interaction.
Eyal Hareuveni
Yann Joussein (drums), Heddy Boubaker (electric guitar)
