23 September 2026 – Delphine Joussein Turns Flute, Electronics and Controlled Chaos Into Calamities

French flautist and experimental musician Delphine Joussein has released "Calamities", a seven-track album through Gigantonium and Utech Records that treats the flute less like something encountered politely in an orchestra and more like an instrument capable of starting an argument. Joussein performs flute, effects and voice across the record, which includes "Balade Avec Olivier" in two parts, "Calamities", "Argent Massif", "Ma Flûte Et Mon Couteau", "Sugar Chain" and a version of Charles Mingus' "Good Bye Pork Pie Hat".

Recorded in the Hautes-Pyrénées in March and mixed and mastered by Norwegian experimental musician Lasse Marhaug, the album pulls free improvisation, noise and extended instrumental techniques into a highly physical sound. Texts used on the record also draw on French writing, including Étienne de La Boétie's "Discourse on Voluntary Servitude", which is rather more confrontational source material than the average flute recital programme.

Joussein's ability to combine breath, voice, amplification and effects places "Calamities" within an experimental tradition where instruments are appreciated partly for all the noises music teachers once told students not to make. The result will not be mistaken for easy-listening jazz in a hotel lobby. That seems extremely intentional. If your understanding of flute begins and ends with delicate birdsong, "Calamities" has arrived carrying several useful corrective documents.