***Using orchestral strings, vanguard soundscapes and collected field recordings, PHILIPPE PETIT’s A Scent of Garmambrosia takes us into a dense, cinematic world that mixes acoustic instrumentation with digital filtering; swaying and unfolding amid the psycho-film-noir syntax of a Lynchean universe. Fans of Kronos Quartet, Philip Jeck, and The Boxhead ensemble will no doubt appreciate Petit’s pioneering post-classical soundtrack. The album continues Petit’s investigations into the boundaries of extant, contemporary scoring and attempts to examine mood, location and action through the lens of modern cinema. These ideas were initiated in his album Henry: The Iron Man (Beta Lactam Ring Records) and continued with “Fiends With A Face,” his duo with James Johnston (Dirter Promotion). A Scent of Garmambrosia’s departure point is David Lynch’s groundbreaking series Twin Peaks, where Lynch defines the word Garmonbozia as “pain and suffering that is consumed,” and seems to be either a food or type of drug. In ancient Greek mythology, Ambrosia is the food and drink of the gods that confers immortality upon whoever consumes it. Thus, Petit’s Garmambrosia is a sonic hybrid of the two—a nectar embodying the agonies of both humanity and deity.