still, there is the sea. Ambre Ciel

De Canadese muzikante Ambre Ciel debuteerde in juni met het prachtige still, there is the sea, waarop betoverend mooie en beeldende klanken samenvloeien met haar misschien nog wel mooiere stem.

Het voor de zomer verschenen still, there is the sea is het debuutalbum van de Canadese muzikante Ambre Ciel. Het is wat mij betreft een bijzonder album. De neoklassieke klanken die op het album zijn te horen hoor ik wel vaker, maar de arrangementen van Ambre Ciel zijn wel heel mooi en worden bovendien gecombineerd met invloeden uit de ambient en de new age. Het debuutalbum van Ambre Ciel wordt nog bijzonderder wanneer ze haar stem toevoegt aan de beeldende muziek. Ze beschikt over een bijzonder mooie stem, die warmte, gevoel en structuur toevoegt aan de songs op still, there is the sea. Ambre Ciel imponeert direct, maar dit fraaie debuut wordt alleen maar mooier en indrukwekkender.

Voor de release hoorde ik een preview van het album still, there is the sea van Ambre Ciel. Dit voorproefje maakte me echt heel nieuwsgierig naar het debuutalbum van de Canadese muzikante en dat album is inmiddels verschenen. Het is een album met acht songs en net iets meer dan een half uur muziek en in dat half uur maakt Ambre Ciel wat mij betreft diepe indruk. 

Het debuutalbum van de muzikante uit Montreal opent echt prachtig. In eerste instantie zijn er de neoklassiek aandoende klanken die direct zorgen voor een bijzondere sfeer, waarna de waanzinnige stem van Ambre Ciel invalt. Het is een stem om onmiddellijk verliefd op te worden, maar de zang van de Canadese muzikante wordt vervolgens alleen maar mooier en intenser. 

Dat geldt overigens ook voor de muziek in de openingstrack van still, there is the sea. De strijkers zwellen flink aan en ook de pianoakkoorden worden steeds wat steviger aangezet, maar de stem van Ambre Ciel blijft centraal staan. Het is een bijzonder mooie en subtiele stem die echt prachtig door de ruimte zweeft, maar het is ook een stem met een uiterst subtiel ruw randje, die zorgt voor flink wat gevoel in de zang van Ambre Ciel, die overigens ook violiste en pianiste is. 

De vijf minuten durende openingstrack van still, there is the sea is in alle opzichten imponerend. De zang en de muziek zijn echt wonderschoon, maar het is ook een track waarin de spanning prachtig wordt opgebouwd. Het zijn ingrediënten die terugkeren in vrijwel alle songs op het album, maar Ambre Ciel legt steeds net wat andere accenten. 

In de tweede track worden de klassiek aandoende strijkerspartijen gecombineerd met klanken die ik meer associeer met ambient of new age en bovendien zingt Ambre Ciel in deze tweede track in het Frans, wat zorgt voor een duidelijk andere sfeer. Het effect is hetzelfde want ook in de tweede track wordt je meegesleept door de breed uitwaaiende klanken en de prachtige strijkersarrangementen en imponeert Ambre Ciel met haar bijna onwaarschijnlijk mooie stem. 

Ik probeer het regelmatig met albums die in het hokje neoklassiek worden geduwd en dat zijn er tegenwoordig heel wat. Het zijn albums die ik in eerste instantie vaak heel mooi vind, maar uiteindelijk houden deze albums mijn aandacht meestal niet vast. Ambre Ciel doet dat wel en dat doet ze door haar stem toe te voegen aan de klassiek aandoende en beeldende klanken. Klankentapijten worden hierdoor songs en daar val ik makkelijker voor. 

Ook als de zang een tijd op zich laat wachten of helemaal niet komt houdt de Canadese muzikante me aan de speakers gekluisterd, want wat wordt er mooi en sfeervol gespeeld op still, there is the sea. De labels neoklassiek, ambient en new age kwamen al voorbij, maar het debuutalbum van Ambre Ciel bevat zo nu en dan ook passages die goed in het hokje filmmuziek passen en die bijna vanzelf fraaie beelden op het netvlies toveren. 

Bij eerste beluistering maakte still, there is the sea al een verpletterende indruk, maar hoe vaker ik naar het debuutalbum van Ambre Ciel luister, hoe meer ik word betoverd door de prachtige klanken, de fraaie spanningsbogen en de bijzonder mooie zang. Het debuutalbum van de muzikante uit Montreal doet het misschien nog wel het best wanneer de zon onder is. Daar moeten we op het moment wat langer op wachten, maar het is het wachten meer dan waard.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt still, there is the sea hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://ambreciel.bandcamp.com/album/still-there-is-the-sea 

2024, week 2. 10 singles

In week two of the new year a very old hero of mine enters the blog, as a solo artist, for the first time. All the other names are less big or even fairly unknown. That gives you the opportunity to explore a few new names, from very different musical backgrounds. So, enjoy.

Samosas & Kingfishers. Robby Krieger And The Soul Savages

Without Robby Krieger the world might never had heard of The Doors as he is responsible for most of 'Light My Fire', the band's major breakthrough song and it's best known one, bar one, perhaps, 'Riders On The Storm'. Although his name popped up here and there, I had no idea that he was still recording music. Until Samosas & Kingfishers came along late last year. Krieger, who is now well into his seventies plays, with an ageing band of brothers, a jazzy instrumental with an Indian overtone. The song slowly finds its way but is simply pleasant to listen to. The warm sounds of an electric piano and organ, provides the kind side to jazzy mood, while a smooth but present bass provides the foundation over which Krieger plays his melodies, like a Carlos Santana playing a sitar and later a sitar like electric guitar. The music is rather dated but certainly worthwhile.

Alles Wacht. Puntjudith x De Toegift

Na het onverwacht leuke concert van Puntjudith in het Patronaat afgelopen december, beloofde ik een nummer van haar te beluisteren. Het laatste nummer dat ze heeft uitgegeven is de song met De Toegift die ook live werd gebracht. Het is een prachtige song met fraaie diepere lagen, die uitnodigen om de plaat vaker te draaien. De vraag is wel, wie nu met wiens sound aan de haal is gegaan. Door de kenmerkende stem en stemgebruik van Maxim Ventule wordt Alles Wacht heel snel een De Toegift song. Qua sfeer passen de twee bands sowieso goed bij elkaar, maar hier vloeit alles samen. Het elektronische van Puntjudith gaat perfect samen met de langzame, contemplatieve sferen van De Toekomst. Kortom, dit duo hoort bij elkaar en dan komen die diepere lagen nog, die in de elektronica, de loops en de achtergrond liggen. Mooie plaat.

Autofahren. iedereen

To sing "Ich möchte ein Tempolimit", and then come up with Autofahren!? What were Ron Huefnagels and Tom Sinke thinking when they wrote this song? How to make sure that everyone listening to this song in a car will get a speed ticket? Are they working in the police force with a tight fine quorum? iedereen, Dutch for "all", is a German punkrock duo, singing in German. The one pounds a drum as loud and wide as possible, the other sings and tries to break his guitar in two, as he playing it so fiercely. Together they cook up a storm. The band name is explained. iedereen originates close to the Dutch border where the Rhine river enters The Netherlands. A word is easily borrowed. Listening to the music, I'm the last to object. For those who can't stand punkrock, it's all over in two minutes. The question remaining is how much I'm speeding in these two minutes. The best advice I can give, is to use that cruise control iedereen also sings about.

Good As It Used To Be. Twist & Writhe

Alternative rock on the brink of punk or the other way around, I'm open to both. A slightly rougher version of Foo Fighters. Twist & Writhe is a new band with members who have been around, well worn in, so to say. Expect huge guitars, a loud rhythm section and a singer with a rough voice to top things off. One thing is abundantly clear, neatness was not a goal when Twist & Writhe recorded Good As It Used To Be. The song is part enthusiasm, part let's get to the bottom of our sound and part skills. Guitar one sounds dark and plays huge chords, guitar two plays higher on the neck and is all over the place with melodies underscoring the chords. The bass manoeuvres itself between the two, making the sound decidedly deeper. The drums are all over the place, like the two guitars are. Singer Arthur Nusser is like a fish in water here. Sonic onslaught of the pleasant kind Twist & Writhe presents. The band's first EP was released on 5 January.

Ruin. Daniël Tomàs

Another instrumental this week. Daniël Tomàs enters the long line of pianists who present solo performing albums. Tomàs expects to release his new album 'Pintures II' this year. Ruin is a track from that album. Within a few minutes the pianist takes the listener through a few moods quite quickly. In the music he tried to capture the Battle of Arnhem, where the allied armies landed paratroopers, "one bridge too far". The composition starts fairly quiet, not totally at ease. There is a tension at its core. The lead melody brings a restive feeling, that slowly contains more and more notes. Far removed from the guitar driven songs I usually listen to, I notice that Ruin captures me, with ease even. Although I'm sure I can not tell this composition apart from the many I've heard over the past years, I like this one.

Storm. Harrison Stone

A single from Down Under, Australia and to be more precise, Melbourne. Harrison Stone released his debut album this Friday, 'Wonder, Won't You?'. The album is filled with songs like Storm, if you like the short version. Stone is a singer-songwriter who is not averse to bring some electronics and atmospherics to his soft, pop songs. A modern version of Crowded House and in line with many singer-songwriters of the past circa ten years. To be more specific, I'm thinking of someone like Canadian Patrick Watson, who matches Storm in atmosphere with ease. In that sense Harrison Stone does not offer something new, nor adds to what exists already, except for his songs which are new and deserve to be heard. His soft-toned voice is pleasant to listen to and so are his songs, starting with this single. As such it is a true commercial for 'Wonder, Won't You?'.

Mud Room. Screw Cart

Man, man, what fun these guys will have playing their surfy garage rock. The member of Screw Cart know exactly where Abraham found his mustard all these decades ago. Every trick in the book comes by. You can check this list yourself if you like. I want to focus on the energy this band shares with us. I'll grant you that the singer may have sung better in his younger years, perhaps, his rough and gravelly voice fits this bill. Listen instead to the guitar flying off the tightrope a few times to land, against all odds, on its feet anyway. Listen to that load of energy and all the little bits and pieces nicked from elsewhere that adorn Mud Room and I assure you, fun is the house.

My Golden Years. The Lemon Twigs

When was this song recorded? In 2023 most likely but anyone could have fooled me had they played the song on a mono device and said this was a totally forgotten, overlooked gem from the 1960s. The Lemon Twigs come extremely close to The Beach Boys, just to name one famous band. The pop feel, the harmonies all are so spot on. While musically the band is far more direct, moving towards the U.K. before it all comes together in a slightly psychedelic interlude. In other words My Golden Years is completely up my alley. The Lemon Twigs is around for some years already but never crossed my path. This has changed and I'm sure My Golden Years is the first of more to come in 2024. I'm looking forward to hear more and fast please.

Slime. Marika Hackman

After 'Hanging', Slime is the second single of Marika Hackman's latest album, 'Big Sigh', released this Friday, that finds not only its way to this blog but is written by myself. Slime is a nice, moderate rocksong with a sound that is as wide as the Grand Canyon, with at least as much reverb as shouting over the rim will create. The spacious sounding mix reveals the extreme attraction of the music. The single is as mysterious as it is interesting. The song certainly has a mysterious element, as if not all is revealed by Marika Hackman. We hear different sounds coming in and leaving again, little bubbly notes, a few notes from a keyboard, overdubbed guitar parts. The richness of the music is astonishing. Over it all Hackman sings with an as cool as sensual voice, better voices, as you can hear her multiple times. I was impressed by 'Hanging'. Marika Hackman did it again. 'Big Sigh', right?

I Got Fear. TORRES

Torres, or Mackenzie Scott as the tax office knows her, returns to WoNoBlog with a dark new song. A mix of acoustic instruments, primarily the acoustic guitar and drums and electronic sounds that weave in and out of I Got Fear. And there's the sound I can't make out whether it's an exotic organ setting or a classical instrument like a bassoon. This accompanies the singing for the larger part of the song. Darkness is what sticks with me most, with the eerie sounds coming deep out of the woods, like the wolves in Drs. P's 'Dodenrit'. I Got Fear does not give room to any other sentiment and it shows. "You're panicking", like Torres sings, tells it all. "Think I'll be alright", we can only hope this is the case. What remains, is an extremely clear sounding song that provides the right space to all the instruments to play their part and that is where this single scores points.

Wout de Natris

Marble Sounds. Marble Sounds

De Belgische band Marble Sounds levert een zeer sfeervolle en veelzijdige soundtrack voor de donkerste dagen van het jaar af, die terecht hoog scoort in flink wat Nederlandse en Belgische jaarlijstjes.

De naam Marble Sounds had ik wel eens gehoord, maar naar de muziek van de Belgische band had ik tot voor kort nog nooit geluisterd. Daar heb ik inmiddels flinke spijt van, want het laatste album van de band rond de Brusselse muzikant Pieter van Dessel is echt prachtig. Marble Sounds staat op haar een paar maanden geleden verschenen album garant voor zeer sfeervolle klanken, maar de band schuwt ook het avontuur niet. Een aantal songs op het album doet dankzij de hoofdrol voor de piano en strijkers neoklassiek aan, maar een aantal andere songs schuift op richting pop, mede dankzij elektronische impulsen. Zelfs de autotune klinkt prachtig op dit bijzondere album. Dat moet genoeg zeggen.

In een aantal Nederlandse en Belgische jaarlijstjes kwam ik het titelloze album van Marble Sounds tegen. Marble Sounds ken ik wel van naam, maar ik heb eerder dit jaar niet naar het nieuwe album van de Belgische band geluisterd. Ook de vorige vier albums van de band uit Brussel ken ik overigens niet. Of ik daar veel aan mis weet ik nog niet, maar het een aantal maanden geleden verschenen titelloze album is een album van een bijzondere schoonheid. 

In Marble Sounds draait alles om de Belgische muzikant Pieter van Dessel, die een bijzonder sfeervol album heeft afgeleverd. De openingstrack verwarmt direct de ruimte met fraaie pianoklanken en flink wat strijkers. Het combineert prachtig met de mooie en bijzondere stem van Pieter van Dessel, die nog beter tot zijn recht komt wanneer subtiele vrouwenstemmen worden toegevoegd. 

Het titelloze album van Marble Sounds bevat een aantal tracks waarin piano en strijkers domineren, maar Pieter van Dessel kleurt zijn songs net zo makkelijk met elektronica in. Hier en daar grijpt hij zelfs naar de autotune, maar waar dit bij mij normaal gesproken een allergische reactie oproept, kan ik de experimenten met de autotune in de muziek van Marble Sounds wel waarderen. 

De warme klanken op het album doen het uitstekend op de dagen waarin het daglicht zich maar een beperkt aantal uren per dag laat zien en de zon meestal afwezig is, maar de songs van Pieter van Dessel zijn veel meer dan sfeervol muzikaal behang voor donkere dagen. De muziek van Marble Sounds bestrijkt bijna stiekem een breed palet dat begint bij pop en eindigt bij atmosferische of zelfs neoklassieke klanken. 

In muzikaal opzicht heeft het nieuwe album van Marble Sounds niet veel tijd nodig om te overtuigen en ook de zang op het album vond ik direct sterk. Het zijn met name de songs op het album die iets meer tijd nodig hebben om te kunnen groeien van mooie en stemmige songs tot wonderschone songs die over het vermogen beschikken om diep onder de huid te kruipen. Het zijn bovendien songs die vol zitten met bijzondere accenten en verrassende wendingen. Songs die op het eerste gehoor vooral mooi en sfeervol lijken, blijken ook verrassend avontuurlijk. 

Het nieuwe album van de Belgische band is een album dat zich genadeloos opdringt op een donkere en gure avond, maar iedere keer dat je naar het album luistert hoor je weer nieuwe dingen. Het verbaast me inmiddels al lang niet meer dat Humo het album de maximale score gaf en dat een meerdere gerenommeerde Nederlandse en Belgische jaarlijstjes een plek hebben gereserveerd voor het titelloze album van Marble Sounds. 

Het is een album dat me op een of andere manier aan van alles en nog wat doet denken, maar ik kan er de vinger niet goed opleggen. Met alle strijkers en hier en daar ook nog een uit de kluiten gewassen koor klinkt de muziek van Marble Sounds groots en meeslepend, maar pompeus wordt het nooit. En als de Belgische band haar muziek even net wat zwaarder aanzet volgt er altijd wel een ingetogen en intieme song of grijpt de band naar verrassende middelen als meer elektronica of zelfs de autotune. Voor mijn jaarlijstje is het inmiddels te laat, maar muziekliefhebbers met wat meer geduld moeten dit album misschien nog even checken.

Erwin Zijleman

 

Je kunt Marble Sounds hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://marblesounds.bandcamp.com/album/marble-sounds

Kairos # 136, 6 January 2022

Oh, dear, it has come to pass. I'm one year behind. So I faced a fundamental choice. You find my decision here as if it is 2022.

The "station call" starts and a sole piano starts playing after a few seconds, followed by a classical voice. Too high to my taste. It turns out to be a Freddy Mercury composition but before I found out, I had a thought ABBA? But no, this is an album in which Freddy Mercury gets a classical treatment. Not so strange, remember 'Barcelona'? I do not recognise 'You Took My Breath Away' from any Queen album. This could be explained by the fact I do not have them all, the fact that I do not play them often and do not own any solo albums. I always liked Queen's singles better than its albums, 'A Night At The Opera' excepted as literally the only one.

A guitar with quite some reverb on it takes over and a male voice starts singing. Faintly familiar, modern. like many singer-songwriters these days. A hint of dance in the singer-songwriter format. It's Dutch singer-songwriter Emil Landman. Someone I'm not a fan of and 'Rise And Fall' underscores this. Not that it is a bad song. Perhaps even far from. It's just that his way of singing and the structure of the song do not agree with me. Starting all the way up in the tree with Ed Sheeran down to many presenting songs like his. This is not my thing.

Next up, is more esoteric. Music as if made in an underwater world. Music like bubbles rising up to the surface, seen from a human point of view of course. How would a fish call the spot where water turns into air, had it has words? The speed of "the bubble" rises, resulting in them becoming unrecognisable as such. The sound becomes a wave, ever continuing. Highland Spokesman is the artist, I'm listening to 'Sound 03 three'. At some point nothing happens, except for that pulse that is kept up. Listen more closely and you will find slow changes or an extra sound hidden in that pulse. Intriguing in a way it certainly is. Would I ever listen to it outside of this context? The question is more: where would I ever encounter music like this? I have no clue, for the simple reason I did not know it existed.

A harp comes in and I could have guessed it to be Remy van Kesteren's, as he has become a favourite of Kairos over the past months. Playing slow notes, accented by a deeper register. Which I take to be a harp as well, but I'm not certain. I am trying to get into the composition but notice I'm not succeeding. Van Kesteren is slowly making a name for himself. I can look into the future from January 2022 after all. I can imagine this to be a good thing. For me there's no other option but to conclude 'Amanuel' is not for me.

Next up is an Eastern sound of a tabla or some such Indian percussive instrument. The organ playing the hint of a melody is far removed from India. The singing that starts after about one minute certainly is. 'Bitinélis' the song is called by someone or a band called Merope. The singing is not fully natural. It has been treated with a kind of effect, almost as if sliced and glued back together. The organ and human-like singing effects in the background gives 'Bitinélis' a ghost like effect. As if a whole choir from the netherworld is trying to contribute to the song, almost succeeding. Creeping through the cracks of the studio but getting stuck. Fully hybrid between west and east this song is but also very, very weird and almost disturbing. I can't make heads or tails here.

With 'The Heron' I have to pay attention I notice. Some atmospheric sounds come out of my speakers, a hint of a melody and it's all over already as a choir sings over the strange sound that remains. This is church music of the modern kind, for half a minute.

Next up is a female voice with a lot of echo on it. Hardly any music at first. First, voices weaving in and out of each other but quite possibly all of the same singer. Hints of Kate Bush at the time of 'Cloudbusting' and one of the biggest hits of 2022, yes!, 'Running Up That Hill'. It is Marta del Grandi's 'Amethyst'. This is by comparison the first song on this Kairos after Emil Landman. I had never heard of Del Grandi before but I can imagine listening to her music, become fascinated and enjoying it to.

A violin comes in in a screeching kind of way, not trying to please immediately, although the music around it is. Nick Cave? I thought. No this voice is not deep enough. It turns out it is 'L.I.T.A.N.I.E.S.'. The work of Cave with composer Nicholas Lens returns to Kairos. This is more Leonard Cohen without Cohen I'd venture. Especially when the female voice blends with Cave's, fully Leonard Cohen style. This song, 'Litany Of Godly Love' holds an element of beauty that is not hard to discern once I start listening. The ending is quite abrupt though.

More violins enter with more instruments suggesting an orchestra venturing into a modern composistion. Including an angelic choir holding a long note and then another. 'Kali Malone Fantas For Two Organs' is an interesting title where I do not hear a single organ so far. Catarina Barbieri is also an unknown name to me. What to make of it? This is experimental alright. Sounds and not necessarily connected notes from different instruments fly in and out.

Sorry, folks, it may be there's a long composition going on. My guess is yes. This does sort of sound the same. Perhaps a bit more structured from what happened before. The tracklist has a hole of about 12 minutes and Shazam has no clue here. There are organs by now, perhaps two, so my guess is we are listening to Barbieri right now and perhaps not before. The question remains, is this music? Yes, because there are clear notes, a certain pattern and an, albeit slow, rhythm. That does not make it The Beatles though, to mention what, when all is said and done, probably remains my favourite band. Working from melody in the extreme. Let me conclude that 'Kali Malone Fantas For Two Organs' is far too long for me.

Next up is a fragment form Ilsha's or Ilse Hamelink's 'Black Hand'. Her mini album still agrees quite well with me and is played with a certain regularity. At some point it will go from the stash to the, for cds and LPs much feared, cupboard. Once in, it is hard to come out. The fragment is almost unrecognisable, it's gone so fast.

A piano takes over. It is Annelie with the composition 'Of'. It is of the kind recorded in a way that it is as if another instrument hides in between the piano notes. Ghost notes in between the reverb of the piano's body. 'Of' is a song that meanders and provides beauty to its listeners.

Another fragment of the 'Black Hand' comes by. For the love of me, I simply do not recognise it as such. What's done to it?

Other music sets in already. A sister of Catarina Barbieri without two organs? Again there's a hint of music but far more the effect of tones and atmospherics. Emanuelle Errante's 'Inner' comes by. An acoustic guitar is played as if someone is studying chords and most likely is a virtuoso. There's no consistency though. It is as if someone took an axe to the tape and then got all the pieces back together in a random way while the background sounds and atmospherics continue in a never stopping loop. A broken guitar that can still be played.

At some point Icelandic composer Ólafur Björn Ólafsson comes in with a harp like sound. By comparison everything becomes music but also 'White Mountain' or 'Ulfur' in Icelands is not for me. To be ahead of Wino, who creates these beautiful Kairosses, "yes, I've had a hard time".

Wout de Natris

Here's the link to this Kairos:

https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/kairos_642785/

This is the playlist:

00:00 – 00:16  Kairos tune by Wino Penris.

00:04 – 03:57  Freddie Mercury. You Take My Breath Away. Jodie Devos & Nicolas Krüger.
Album ‘And Love Said‘. Alpha Classics.

03:37 – 06:33  Emil Landman. Rise And Fall. EP ‘Brooklyn Sessions’. V2 Benelux.

06:17 – 12:33  Highland Spokesman. Sounds 03 three (partly).
Album ‘Sounds’. ΠΑΝΘΕΟΝ Records (Pantheon).

11:58 – 17:54  Remy van Kesteren. Amanuel.
EP ‘Places I May Have Visited, People I May Have Met’. Snowstar Records.

17:21 – 23:47  Merope. Bitinélis. Album ‘Salos’. Stroom (2)/Granvat.

23:22 – 24:28  Faten Kanaan. The heron. Album ‘A Mythology of Circles’. Fire records.

24:27 – 25:00  Guido Morini. Vivifice Spiritus Vitae Vis part 1.
Album ‘Vivifice Spiritus Vitae Vis’. Cypres Records CYP 1656.

24:28 – 24:31  Faten Kanaan. The heron (fragment).
Album ‘A Mythology of Circles’. Fire records.

24:35 – 24:38  Faten Kanaan. The heron (fragment, slightly adapted by Wino Penris).
Album ‘A Mythology of Circles’. Fire records.

24:44 – 24:48  Faten Kanaan. The heron (fragment, slightly adapted by Wino Penris).
Album ‘A Mythology of Circles’. Fire records.

24:54 – 28:47  Marta del Grandi. Amethyst. Album ‘Until We Fossilize’.

28:19 – 29:12  Ilse Hamelink. Black Hands (fragment). Ilsha.
Album ‘Dive’. Tiny Room Records.

28:47 – 33:32  Nicholas Lens/Nick Cave. Litany Of Godly Love.
Album ‘L.I.T.A.N.I.E.S.’. Deutsche Grammophon 00289 483 9745.Sunmoonstar tr 7

33:12 – 37:02  Caterina Barbieri. Kali Malone Fantas For Two Organs.
Album ‘Fantas Variations’. Editions Mego EMEGO279

46:28 – 47:22  Ilse Hamelink. Black Hands (fragment). Ilsha.
Album ‘Dive’. Tiny Room Records.

47:16 – 50:14  Annelie. Of. Album ‘After Midnight’. Sony Music Entertainment/DGR.

49:48 – 56:08  Emanuelle Errante. Inner (partly).
Album: Time Elapsing Handheld. Karaoke Kalk CD 75.

49:54 – 50:47  Ilse Hamelink. Black Hands (fragment). Ilsha.
Album ‘Dive’. Tiny Room Records.

55:50 – 59:57  Ólafur Björn Ólafsson / Ulfur. White Mountain.
Album ‘White Mountain’. Western Vinyl.

A Closer Distance. Bruno Bavota & Chantal Acda

Chantal Acda maakt niet alleen prachtige soloalbums, maar imponeert ook met uiteenlopende samenwerkingsverbanden, zoals nu op het wonderschone A Closer Distance met de Italiaanse muzikant Bruno Bavota.

Er zijn goede zangeressen, er zijn hele goede zangeressen en er is Chantal Acda. De stem van Chantal Acda behoort al jaren tot de mooiste stemmen in de popmuziek en ook op A Closer Distance laat de Nederlandse muzikante weer horen waarom dat zo is. Op A Closer Distance werkt ze samen met de Italiaanse muzikant Bruno Bavota, die het album heeft voorzien van een subtiel maar betoverend mooi neoklassiek klankentapijt. Chantal Acda zingt zoals gewoonlijk de sterren van de hemel, waardoor het half uur muziek op A Closer Distance goed is voor een half uur kippenvel. Zeker in de kleine uurtjes doet dit album wonderen en het wordt vooralsnog alleen maar mooier.

Chantal Acda woont weliswaar al flink wat jaren in België, maar de van oorsprong Nederlandse muzikante behoort in vocaal opzicht wat mij betreft tot het allerbeste dat ons land op het moment te bieden heeft. De prachtige stem van Chantal Acda viel me een jaar of tien geleden voor het eerst op bij beluistering van een album van de Vlaamse band Isbells, maar sindsdien was haar stem ook te horen op een aantal uitstekende soloalbums en op albums van meerdere samenwerkingsverbanden, waaronder het geweldige project Distance, Light & Sky met Chris Eckman van The Walkabouts en jazzmuzikant Eric Thielemans.

Chantal Acda zoekt op haar soloalbums, maar zeker met de samenwerkingsverbanden die ze is aangegaan, in muzikaal opzicht met grote regelmaat de grenzen op. Ik moet eerlijk toegeven dat ik, ondanks de prachtige stem van de Nederlandse muzikante, zeker niet alles goed vind, maar de meeste albums in haar inmiddels heel behoorlijke oeuvre kan ik zeer waarderen. Het bijzondere PŪWAWAU uit 2019, waar ik in eerste instantie maar heel weinig mee kon, heb ik leren waarderen.

Deze week verscheen een nieuw album waarop de bijzondere stem van Chantal Acda te horen is en het is wederom een samenwerkingsverband. Op A Closer Distance werkt Chantal Acda samen met de Italiaanse componist en multi-instrumentalist Bruno Bavota. De Italiaanse muzikant heeft een aantal albums op zijn naam staan en het zijn albums die vooral in het hokje neoklassiek worden geduwd.

De neoklassieke klanken op A Closer Distance combineren opvallend mooi met de stem van Chantal Acda, die met het album met Bruno Bavota weer een bijzondere wending toevoegt aan haar bijzondere oeuvre. Chantal Acda en Bruno Bavota kennen elkaar al langer, maar A Closer Distance is hun eerste gezamenlijke album. Het is een album met negen songs en bijna een half uur muziek. Dat is voor een album aan de korte kant, maar het kleine half uur muziek dat de twee muzikanten gemaakt hebben is van een bijzondere schoonheid.

Bruno Bavota tekent op A Closer Distance voor akoestische gitaar, synthesizers en andere elektronica, maar in de meeste tracks op het album hoor je toch vooral het pianospel van de Italiaanse muzikant. Het is zacht en subtiel pianospel, maar de muzikale basis van Bruno Bavota is ook bijzonder mooi. Zeker in de kleine uurtjes strelen de pianoklanken op het album bijzonder subtiel maar ook zeer trefzeker het oor. Het is bovendien beeldend pianospel, dat steeds weer goed is voor fraaie beelden op het netvlies.

Het is een relatief sobere basis, die prachtig wordt gecombineerd met de eveneens zachte en subtiele vocalen van Chantal Acda. De Nederlands/Belgische muzikante beschikt zoals gezegd over een van de mooiste stemmen van het moment en ook de zang op A Closer Distance is weer van een unieke schoonheid. Hier en daar komen de vocalen in meerdere lagen uit de speakers, maar in de meeste tracks op het album draaien het sobere pianospel van Bruno Bavota en de zachte zang van Chantal Acda prachtig om elkaar heen. A Closer Distance is een behoorlijk sober album, maar het is ook een warm en intiem album dat zich steeds genadelozer opdringt. Een volgend hoogtepunt in het unieke oeuvre van Chantal Acda.

Erwin Zijleman

Je kunt A Closer Distance hier luisteren en bestellen:

https://chantalacda.bandcamp.com/album/bruno-bavota-chantal-acda-a-closer-distance

The Köln Concert. Ralph van Raat

De Vereening, Nijmegen. 30 april 2022

Foto: Astrid van der Meijs

1975. Ik zat nog op de middelbare school. Mijn muzieksmaak was zich nog aan het ontwikkelen. Ik luisterde alles: pop, klassiek, oude muziek, minimal, folk, soul (liefst van die heel bombastische), blues, jazz… en nog veel meer. Het kon nog alle kanten op. En dat is het ook gegaan. En gaat het nog steeds.

En toen stond daar opeens die dubbel-LP in de bakken met die foto van Jarrett, in slaap gevallen met zijn hoofd op de piano. “Dat moet wel heel rustige muziek zijn”, dacht ik. “Toch maar eens luisteren.”

Daarmee opende zich een stuk van het muzikale universum dat ik nog niet kende: geïmproviseerde muziek die het midden houdt tussen wat we nu neoklassiek noemen en jazz. En daar wordt dan doorheen geneuried en gekreund. En met voeten gestampt. Hm, dat klinkt misschien niet heel aantrekkelijk, maar ik ga niet verder proberen te beschrijven hoe die muziek klinkt. Ga het zelf maar eens beluisteren als het je interesseert. Ik vond en vind het in ieder geval fantastisch! Grijsgedraaid heb ik hem.

… Destijds. Ik heb de LP nu al zeker twintig jaar niet meer gedraaid, maar toch word ik regelmatig wakker met deze muziek in mijn hoofd. Het is de invasieve exoot van de muziek: als je het eenmaal in je hoofd hebt, gaat het nooit meer weg. Maar, geen probleem. Ook in mijn hoofd blijft het schitterend.

En nu heeft Ralph van Raat, docent aan het Conservatorium van Amsterdam, het dus in zijn hoofd gehaald dat het een goed idee is om dit absolute unicum, het hoogtepunt van Jarrett’s carrière, 47 jaar na dato nog een keer dunnetjes over te gaan doen. Hoe kom je d’r op?

Zoals gezegd, het Köln Concert was destijds volledig geïmproviseerd, maar er zijn liefhebbers die vanaf de LP de muziek noot voor noot hebben genoteerd. Deze partituren vormden het uitgangspunt voor Ralph van Raat. Hij heeft ze hier en daar wat aangepast: sommige wat zoekerige stukken weggelaten en andere wat verder uitgewerkt.

En dat moest ik natuurlijk zien en horen! In de zaal bevond zich een groot aantal mannen van mijn leeftijd en wat ouder. Sommigen vergezeld door hun levenspartner. Ja, Keith was destijds echt een mannendingetje. Voor mannen die niet van voetbal hielden, dat dan weer wel. Er zaten hier en daar wat mensen met de ‘originele’ partituren op schoot mee te lezen. Dat ken ik eigenlijk alleen van de Mattheus Passie. Een redelijk hoog freak-gehalte. Gemiddeld wat afwijkend van het gemiddelde. Ik voelde me volkomen thuis.

En, tja, nou, ik moet zeggen: het was een geweldig idee, Ralph!

Ralph van Raat is een virtuoos op de piano. Dat moet ook wel want het werk is nogal …. veeleisend. De vleugel (als ik het goed gezien heb een Steinway) trok het af en toe niet helemaal. Tijdens de meest dynamische stukken werd het geluid één blikkerige brij. Dat was jammer.

Maar, een kniesoor die daarop let. Het was een magische avond. Ralph wist wonder boven wonder de spanning van de improvisatie op te roepen.

De sfeer in de zaal was uniek. Liefdevol. We raakten na afloop in diepe gesprekken met ons totaal onbekenden. En als dan de naam Keith Jarrett viel (“Jarrett Zelf…”), was dat in een gewijde sfeer.

Maar ik heb toch ook iets gemist: Ralph van Raat kreunde niet. Hij stampte wel met zijn voeten, dat wel. Maar hij kreunde niet. Ik had het niet verwacht, maar ik heb het gemist.

En dan te weten dat er opnamen zijn van het Köln Concert waaruit het geneurie en gekreun is weggehaald.

Zonde! Doodzonde!

Wino Penris

Kairos 133, October 2021

May 2022 and Kairos of October 2021? Yes. Does it matter? No. Once again Wout delves into Wino's radio show on Concertzender and reports on his ideas, emotions, thoughts, associations all called up by the music presented in Kairos.

The familiar opening tune calls out to me. All mystery in 16 seconds and what lies in wait behind it? As usual I do not have a clue and submit myself to the music, while committing myself to the programme.

Soft music takes over. Slow notes on a keyboard ring out over a bed of atmospheric music. I'm not familiar with the music, although I recognise the name Faten Kanaan as an artist that came by in the albums presented to me. The label is Fire Recordings, so I'm not surprised to hear 'Mist & Madrigal' come by on Kairos. Many releases of the label have found their way to the show. Fire and Kairos are a good match and it is easy to hear why. The music does conjure up thoughts of mist and the mystery that can surround mist.

Something else, far less harmonious, takes over. The contrast is even a little disturbing. The quick notes totally in opposite of Faten Kanaan's music. Time is fleeting, and this music is as well. The music is like the hands of the clock. Seconds, minutes and hours all get their own piece in 'Time' by Poppy Ackroyd. Whether this is intentional, I don't know of course and had I thought of the association had I not read the title? Of course not. Fact is that 'Time' can be listened to in this fashion. Fascinating. Another association I have is with Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' in the way the fast parts are played, on, I think, a piano.

A dark sound moves in with over it piano notes, fairly sparse. The mood is consistent I notice. This music fits well together, despite the double tempo playing having been left behind. 'Sleeping Deer' is a piece by Mary Lattimore. A synth joins in a bubbly, propulsive manner. It creates the tempo that was abandoned anyway. What to make of it however? Is this butter or cheese? This can only be ascertained when you have seen or tasted either before. With 'Sleeping Deer' it's hard to say. The work comes close to being non-music. There is a melody involved but so sparse, so radical that I have a hard time getting through the 6.30 minutes it lasts. What I can't get my head around, is what Mary Lattimore wants to share with me. Atmosphere, a semi, non-pleasant one, sure. But beyond that?

A guitar takes over. A slow, stop-start rhythm. A female voice, hazy, hoarse starts singing. A tinkering, slow piano under a vague chorus. This is different but I like it alright. It's not a female voice at all. It's Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine who return to Kairos. The soft song is mysterious. The musical accompaniment is kept so small. The slow musical melody is angelic and beautiful in both a gruff as angelic way. Something impossible to obtain. 'Olympus' has it though.

What comes next? Simple Minds' 'Belfast Child'? No, it could have been though. This song has the exact same mood, though created by more traditional instruments, like a droning pump organ or something like it. A bagpipe for instance. It's an organ alright, I notice when the chord changes. It is 'Dew' by Bridgid Mae Power (Fire Recordings again). This is a traditional song alright. Folk at its most elementary. Beautiful, yet unapproachable. Warm and so cold. That is what 'Dew' is, very probably like dew on a cold morning is.

This month's poem is in English. Inspired by the sea. The music must be Ben Lucas Boysen's 'Nocturne 4'. It was woven into 'Olympus' somehow already. Now the slow and atmospheric keyboard, synths and atmospherics slowly works itself to a grand staging. A full drum kit joins giving the composition a giant oomph. Had a trumpet been provided, it could have been a new and more modern work by Ekseption, had its founding members not died that is. Boysen combines the classical with symphonic rock here and in a successful way to. Like it should. It doesn't matter from which side you approach symphonic rock it seems, it works both ways.

Next I hear church chanting come in. Fleeting, from so far away, as if coming to me from another universe. Until the male voices join in. This music of course ought to have been cancelled, coming from Russia and its orthodox church at that. Well, this Kairos comes from October and what did we know then? Nothing. 'We magnify Thee, Most Holy Virgin Theotokos (from the Service of the Baptism in Russia)' also indicates babies and what do they know? Nothing. I suggest we leave this chant be.

More slow notes fill my ears. Beneath it long held atmospheric notes can be heard. This could be a mysterious intro to a rock song and it can be something that continues on its own for half an hour, as sometimes compositions on Kairos do. What is this instrument?, I do wonder. It is a harp. This is Remy van Kesteren, an artist releasing songs faster than anyone can keep up with it seems. 'Waves' comes from his album 'Amber'. It is slow, mysterious and feels like being in the dark, reaching for the light which is, somehow within reach.

Somewhere the song changes or melts into something called 'Here We Are (Once Again) by Okkyung Lee. Another harp, that's easy to discern now. Underneath it other extremely slow playing instruments. A clarinet? The darker notes, coming by every so many measures, will be bass strings of the harp, I guess. To enjoy this music, I would need more rest in my body, which I notice I do not have enough of right now. I'm not submitting to this mood and music. My brain is on and not in a meditative mood.

Effortlessly the music moves into something else. It could be Akkyung Lee changing his song to incorporate another instrument, violins. It is not, however. What I'm listening to is 'Valley Of Tears' by Tom Snijders. Although, where the mood is concerned, this song is totally in line with the previous one. So is it a harp, that I can't relax myself on? As this music totally releases me from whatever occupied my brain just now, immediately. What am I writing?, I notice myself thinking. You enjoy listening to violins?! Am I getting old? No, I just totally enjoyed 'Wet Leg', one of the best albums recently released. The contrast to 'Valley Of Tears' is huge and yet this also works for me. The soft and relaxed but above all modest mood Tom Snijders presents is simply beautiful.

Another violin enters the last, muffled piano notes of Snijders. Also soft, yet by comparison harsh and biting. It's almost weird to notice how through comparison something soft containing long-held notes can be so loud, simply because of what came before. The composition is called 'Articulated Silences (part 1)'. It's also strange how this title articulates my first impression. Of course the effect quickly dissipates. The long-held notes create their own rhythm and atmosphere. I can imagine to mentally surf over the notes, catching wave after wave on an endless ocean without a beach in sight. Stars of the Lid has been in Kairos before and again claims its rightful place it seems.

To be replaced by world music. An exotic, to my ears, wood instrument whether bowed or blown introduces a female singer, singing deep from her throat, more sounds than words sometimes. The guitars, acoustic, give 'El Sikameya' a modern feel. This recording is less traditional than the song is. I always have a hard time to listen to this, but in this context, it feels totally right.

Some sort of modern church music takes over. With a reverb on the voice giving the impression to be recorded in a huge cathedral, catching the voice from a huge distance, using the acoustic qualities and ambiance of the big church fully. There are instruments involved in Gavin Bryars' 'Incipit Vita Nova' but they are totally subjected to the vocals. As I have written several times before, repetition is unavoidable over so many years, this music is not for me. Yet, I can hear the inner beauty in this music. Just like I can imagine myself sitting in that cathedral. Eyes closed, letting the music and singing grab me fully. At this moment someone starts using an electric saw or something like it outside. Speaking of dissonance within total tranquillity.

Kairos closes with another artist who has found his way fairly recently to Kairos for the first time. The mood in music hardly changes, despite faint percussion and digital sounds. It is the Moritz von Oswald Trio's 'Chapter 3'. What to truly make of it? Slowly the music fades out and Kairos comes to an end, before I can really make up my mind.

Wout de Natris

You can listen to this episode of Kairos here:

https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/kairos_629469/

 

The playlist:

00:00 – 00:16  Kairos Tune by Wino Penris

00:11 – 03:23  Faten Kanaan. Mist & Madrigal.
Album ‘A Mythology of Circles’.  Fire records.

02:37 – 08:47  Poppy Ackroyd. Time. Album ‘Resolve’, Poppy Ackroyd, Joe Quail, Mike Lesirge, Manu Delago. One Little Indian Records.

08:17 – 14:56  Mary Lattimore. Sleeping Deer.
Album ‘Collected Pieces II’. Self-released.

14:34 – 17:41  Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine. Olympus.
Album ‘A Beginner’s Mind’. Secretly Group.

17:31 – 18:08  Ben Lukas Boysen, Nocturne 3 (fragment).
Album ‘spells’. Erased Tapes Records.

17:58 – 21:25  Traditional. Dew. Brigid Mae Power.
EP ‘Burning Your Light. Fire Records.

21:09 – 27:57  Ben Lukas Boysen. Nocturne 4 . Album ‘Spells’. Erased Tapes Records.

21:27 – 22:32  Poem by Esther Rozenboom. Voice and recording by Esther Rozenboom. Private recording.

27:23 – 29:18  Anonymous. We magnify Thee, Most Holy Virgin Theotokos (from the Service of the Baptism in Russia). Znamenny Chant. Album ‘Hymns to the Mother of God at the Moleben’. Publisihing Department of the Moscow Patriarchate.

29:03 – 33:58  Remy van Kesteren. Waves. Album ‘Amber’. Snowstar Records.

33:09 – 39:19  Okkyung Lee. Here we are (once again).
Album ‘Heaven On Fire (various artists)’. Fire Records.

34:51 – 35:05  Fragment from poem by Esther Rozenboom, adapted by Wino Penris.

38:48 – 44:16  Ton Snijders. Valley of Tears. Album ‘Solo (2)‘. Munich Recrds.

43:58 – 49:23  Stars of the Lid. Articulate Silences (part 1).
Album ’And their refinement of decline’. Kranky.

49:18 – 52:05  Traditional. Istikhbar Sahli. El Sikameya.
Album ‘Atifa’. Editions Le Mur du Son.

51:44 – 57:52  Gavin Bryars. Incipit Vita Nova. (David James, countertenor; Annemarie Dreyer, violin; Ulrike Lachner, viola; Rebecca Firth, cello).
Album ‘Vita Nova’. ECM NEW SERIES.

57:34 – 59:57  Moritz von Oswald trio. Chapter 3 (fade-out).
Album ‘Dissent‘. Modern Recordings.

Earthbound. Lavalu + Heimat. Miriam Moczko

Today two albums. For two reasons. The musicians share albums with us that have some musical kinship and Lavalu produced Heimat. That is good enough reason for me to share the two records in one post.

Earthbound. Lavalu

Earthbound is an album with classical traits. There are many artists who produce modern classic albums in which a piano, often, is the sole instrument. Lavalu certainly is active in that segment of music, but instead writes songs. Her album is a serious affair, filled with songs that as such are small but brought to the listener as huge as possible. As if Lavalu and the musicians accompanying her are in the room with you. A voice, a piano and some occasional strings, like a cello or violin and that is all. The way the music is mixed, gives the huge impression. Listening through a headphone will make Earthbound all encompassing.

Lavalu presents her listeners with slow music. The kind to undergo at leisure and certainly not in a hurry. She wants to sing and play to you directly. Softly touching your ear and brain. The reward for taking your time for her.

Lavalu is Mariëlle Woltring, who lives in Arnhem but was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Earthbound is the last part of a triology of albums, starting with 'Solitairy High' (2017) and 'Midair' (2019). In between she composed the music to the theater spectacle 'Het Pauperparadijs' (Pauper's Paradise). Earthbound has, most likely due to the circumstances of the past two years, been recorded at home. Piano and voice come straight from Mariëlle Woltring's living room.

Besides Woltring two other musicians can be heard, Roosmarie Tuenter (alto violin) and Paul Rittel (cello). Both are also responsible for some of the background vocals. Together they are responsible for extremely intimate music, that because of the way it is mixed and presented can be very direct as well. It makes Earthbound an album to truly listen to and deeply enjoy.

Heimat

Miriam Moczko's album opens with the single 'White Wolf'. Had I not known better and not listening to closely, I could easily have been fooled into believing it was a track on Lavalu's album Earthbound. Intrinsically the two are active in the same kind of chamber pop music. Soft singing, classical instruments and at best hints at percussion. More so on Heimat. Lavalu produced Heimat and stayed close to what she is comfortable with, without creating a second Lavalu.

Listening closer Heimat is far more poppier compared to Earthbound. The album is lighter of tone, more playful as well. Take 'Brothers'. The finger clicking making up the rhythm gives the song a lighter touch, as do the harmony vocals.

Heimat is a serious album as well, making listening to it a pleasurable experience. The mix between the classical instruments and the pop part fully succeeds. Like the mix between the seriousness of the overarching theme of the album. A family history that lies in Opper-Silesia, now Slask in Polish and parents who moved away from there into what became West-Germany. A story showing that borders between countries have been volatile for ages. We only think they are not, a bit ignorant we modern people are in the face of history. That story is told on Heimat, meaning homecountry in German, but also something like where someone belongs.

Miriam Moczko has found the right voice and tone for her story. The mix between the serious sounding cello and a more playful piano or guitar works and shows what a modern singer-songwriter can achieve with fairly modest means but a healthy sense of ambition. The result is a lush sounding album with the right mix of warmth and coldness as well as compassion and distance.

Wout de Natris

Kairos 132, 2 September 2021

Catching up is a hard thing to do, with so much other things in music happening and there are not even live shows. Well there are, but I've decided to skip them for a while longer. With Kairos I'm six months behind actually, but luckily for me it is without consequence and it remains something special to do: listen to an hour of music, that more often than not is removed miles, oceans, deserts and mountain ranges away from what I listen to on a regular, as in daily basis. It's time to submerge myself in an hour of music that was broadcast in September on Concertzender last year. Read this and follow me, click on the link below and let's submerge together on the other side.

The familiar tune, mysterious and promising in one, rings out and fades away to start the programme. Just as mysterious music sounds out, interspersed with a single piano note. A female voice starts singing. It could be any of the female singer-songwriters that have stampeded the world in recent years. However, as far as I'm aware, I have not heard this song before. It is Marta Del Grandi's 'Taller Than His Shadow'. The mix of the hovering soundscapes, coming close to traditional accompaniment and her high tell-singing voice give the song something ghostlike, yet beauty. A violin comes screeching in, giving the impression of a creaking door in a haunted house. Something with shit and fans is about to happen, it seems, were it not that Marta del Grandi fades out,

to give way to Minco Eggersman. It has been a while since he was on the programme. The eeriness gives way to something more light, with a rhythm like a fast heartbeat, the music is somewhere between folk and (modern) classic. To change into something of absolute beauty. Give this to Madrugada, imagine Sivert Høyem's deep-bronzed voice and one of the best rock ballads of the 21st century may emerge.

The mood changes to the more mysterious again. A sound like a looped and treated voice and sounds is what makes the music in the background. On a few occasions I have seen how an artist creates music like this in a live setting. Always in awe how this is possible. A voice is talking over the looped sounds but I'm not following the deathlike voice and find myself concentrating on the human flies buzzing and buzzing, creating a swirling feeling around the voice.

The buzzing continuous when something else comes in. Piano notes, a violin, re-establishing the previous mood. 'Kaykasia', the album of Eggermans is called. After a rising of the violins, a piano takes over.

Tom Snijders is a new name to me. One in a long list by now of pianists, recording solo albums with their compositions. I'm totally unable to tell them apart. Following Eggerman's mood, Snijders works quite well. His 'Sweet memories (For A)' work really well on a Sunday afternoon, I notice. If anything, Snijders caught the sweet memories in this, soft, slow, melancholy music, with the piano playing slow notes and sparse chords over a faint accompanying sound, that may be looped violins. Slow does it here.

Another name that I can't recall comes in next. Again, the music is part a soundscape meandering slowly in the background. Over it some percussion is played. I can imagine a heavy bass coming in, to start a rock song anyway, but no, in reality all sorts of sounds jump forward, only to disappear once again. Moritz von Oswald Trio's 'Chapter 3' is presented to me. It is hard to make heads or tails. This music is certainly special and reaches me, but what I miss is structure, a song. As I already wrote, I could literally hear a bass guitar coming in and introducing a song, a great song even, using the soundscape to set it apart and make it special, but it is not to be. And that is what baffles me.

There's no time to reflect further as another change is announced. Kairos is getting a move on in this episode, with little time for reflection. In fact, I find myself pausing it continuously, something I hardly ever do, to have the chance to finish my train of thought on the music. The change is to another soundscape with treated choir voices or an expensive synthesizer of course. Sounds that come at me, "like the waves out on the beach". to quote Jim Morrison. 'Bending Dreams' by Eluvium' is what I'm listening to.

A song takes over. There's a repeated chord progression and I'm in more familiar territory. Not that I know the song, but I could have, that's for sure. A singer with a voice somewhere in between Kate Bush and Josephine Foster is singing with a soft voice. 'Burn Me Again' by Alpha certainly is influenced by Kate Bush. I recognise a specific kind of chord change, besides the voice. At the same time Alpha is far less commercial than the early Kate Bush. "Burn Me Again", sounds like a witch asking for an encore, I realise. I'm sort of shocked by my association, as it's a rather harsh thing to think.

Before I can follow up this realisation, the song is gone. The mystery is what remains. This song is darker. The desire has left Kairos, that was definitely in Alpha's song. 'Frontplate' it's called and over.

A choir comes in, dark male voices dominating my ears all of a sudden, but also not naturally but treated, looped. This is classical, if not church music. I hear a church organ accompanying the, now, natural sounding voices. A woman's voice shoots up high, close to my ability to cope. It is a short composition by Arvo Pärt called 'Veni Creator Spiritus'. Not my kind of music, you will not be surprised to read if you follow this blog. But, let me add, that were I to enter a cathedral and the choir was practising this work, I would definitely sit down to listen with my eyes closed. Even when something is not my music, I can enjoy the sheer beauty of the vocal performance and the acoustics of the cathedral.

Another soundscape takes over. Mysterious sequences and crackling noises, radio frequencies and what not are interspersed in the slowly building tension in the soundscape that gets louder and louder. Reign does not get to deliver a climax, if there ever is one, I don't know, as it's 'Endplate' gives way to another piano.

It is Jeroen Elfferich returning to Kairos. His work is more intricate but also almost minimal as the same progression is played over and over, until a new one is thrown in and repeated over and over. "Fine' is a track from his album 'The Minimal Piano Series Vol. 1'. It is kind of funny, this music, waiting for something to happen. That is what this music is. Can another variation of notes by added to the existing ones? The answer is yes, it takes patience, but the difference can be a small halt before the next, yet same note is played, changing the feel of 'Fine'. "Fine' literally is the point of rest in this Kairos. After having been hurried along for over twenty minutes, Elfferich gets eight minutes to play his piano in a tender, yet decisive way. The main melody does not know any hesitation. The left hand countermelody is where the hesitation and other feelings and emotions are found. Fascinating.

The change is that as well, as some mysterious sound creeps in together with a weird, digital percussive sound, as if coming to me from underwater. 'Dream 52' by Johanna Knutsson & Sebastian Mullaert brings me in a totally different world, totally unknown as well. I notice I feel like captain Kirk after having been beamed down by "Scotty" to another unknown planet. Friendly? Unfriendly? Kirk can't tell but the accompanying music by Johanna Knutsson & Sebastian Mullaert is ominous. This does not bode well for the (anonymous) Enterprise's crew. The only comforting sound is the bird song, that does sound familiar. Luckily, we know that after a few setbacks, Kirk always prevails.

More piano. Again slow played notes and chords. Extremely delicate and some chords played so hesitatingly, it is as if the composer is making them up on the spot. As if what I hear, is what was thought up while I'm listening. However, slowly but surely Roger Spees is finding his stride, and turns 'Feeling Of Hope' into a beautiful composition.

When a more eerie tone comes in, it's clear that Spees' time is up already. His final note fades away in a singing saw kind of sound, that goes on and on. What is happening here? Is this it? Yes, it is what Rutger Zuydervelt shares with us this month.

He fades away underneath a very traditional sounding voice. "If you've got leaving on your mind", it sings, accompanied by an acoustic guitar. Totally timeless, although there is a traditional country feel to it. I've never heard this before. So what is it? Patsy Cline. An American country singer who is dead for a very long time. A famous name I think, but from before my time and not something my mother brought with her from Canada. So, it passed me by. I may have missed out on something though, as I really like this song. With a brave lyric by the way. The music is on the verge of horrible country music but is not. Cline strikes the right tone and the irritating fiddle and banjo's, in the wrong kind of country song, are all missing. And then I read some more. This is not Patsy Cline but Brigid Mae Power who sings 'Leaving On Your Mind'. This explains why the song sounds so modern (and perhaps the lack of fiddles and stuff). Despite the misunderstanding, I stand by my words.

More soundscapes that come in underneath Ms. Power. It is Yiu Onodera & Celer's 'A Renewed Awareness of Home'. Droning music comes into my ear, with the, for this Kairos, characteristic waves on the beach sounds. Sounds that come and go. Until they solidify somewhat, I notice. Some percussion comes in, in the form of sounds that is, and very wide apart. It's mysterious and baffling. What to make of it? I really have no clue.

I'm saved by a guitar and a high voice. Faintly I recognise the music, as I'll admit not to have played the album a lot after reviewing it last year. Hearing 'Mirror', I have to admit to that having been an omission. Sufjan Stevens is revered by many a critic, but never did much for me. Not in the beginning of his career and not in the 10s. His cooperation with Angelo de Augustine was to my liking and perhaps I should be listening to it more. The song comes by twice it seems.

Slowly but surely sounds can be heard that are not a part of 'Mirror. Finally, weird sounds take over completely. Don't ask me to speculate on what it is. Industrial rhythms take over. Sounding a little like the 'Rain Chant' at 'Woodstock'. Everything available to ram on is used by Moritz von Oswalt Trio. 'Chapter 7' even turns into sounds resembling a melody, the percussion into real drumming. Something is really happening here. There's no need to imagine a bass guitar here or whatever. The trio does its own thing, no matter how mystifying at times.

 My apologies, I only now notice that I have missed one composition. Every four seconds of it! To atone, I've added the cover art. Let me know if you notice.

Wout de Natris

Click here to listen:

https://www.concertzender.nl/programma/kairos_624858/

 

Playlist. Kairos 132

00:00 – 00:16  Kairos Tune by Wino Penris.

00:10 – 01:57  Marta Del Grandi. Taller Than His Shadow. Single. Fire Records.

01:38 – 04:31  Minco Eggersman. The Crossing Place. Album ‘Kavkasia’. Volkoren.

04:08 – 06:34  Héctor Oaks X Coco-Paloma. Intro. EP ‘No Hay Mañana. KAOS.

06:16 – 07:24  Minco Eggersman. Hidden in Clouds. Album ‘Kavkasia’. Volkoren .

07:14 – 09:47  Ton Snijders. Sweet Memories (for A.)
Album ‘Solo (2*). Munch Records.

09:25 – 12:16  Moritz von Oswald Trio. Chapter 3 (partial).
Album ‘Dissent‘. Modern Recordings. 

11:34 – 14:15  Eluvium. Bending dreams. Album ‘Similes’. Temporary Residence.

13:50 – 18:00  Alpha. Burn me again (partial). Album ‘The Sky is Mine’. Green UFOS.

17:41 – 19:41  Reigns. Frontplate. Album ‘The House on the Causeway.
Monotreme Records.

19:29 – 22:49  Arvo Pärt Veni Creator Spiritus. Theatre if Voices/Ars Nova Copenhagen/Paul Hillier. Album ‘Creator Spiritus’. Harmonia Mundi USA.

22:29 – 24:30  Reigns. Endplate. Album ‘The House on the Causeway.
Monotreme Records.

24:20 – 32:03  Jeroen Elfferich. Fine. Album. The Minimal Piano Series Vol I. BSR.

31:17 – 38:56  Johanna Knutsson & Sebastian Mullaert. Dream 52.
Album ‘In Dreams- Live At De Waalse Kerk 2019’. Circle of Live/Modern Matters.

38:35 – 41:46  Roger Spees. Feeling of hope. Album. ‘Piano Tales’. Self-released.

41:10 – 41:14  Heinrich Schütz. Ego sum tui plaga doloris (fragment), from ‚Cationes sacrae quatuor vocum (SWV 53-93). Album ‘Schütz, Cationes Sacrae – Kleine Geistliche Concerte I – Madrigali. Brilliant Classics.

41:28 – 42:40  Rutger Zuydervelt. Sol sketch 7. Machinefabriek.
Album ‘Sol Sketches’. Self-released.

42:30 – 45:27  Patsy Cline. Leavin’ On Your Mind. Brigid Mae Power.
EP ‘Burning Your Light’. Fire Records. 

45:14 – 49:21  Yiu Onodera & Celer. A Renewed Awareness of Home (partial).
Album ‘Generic City’. Two Acorns.

49:08 – 49:14  Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine. Mirror (fragment).
Album ‘Chorusing. Secretly Group.

49:14 – 54:01  Sufjan Stevens & Angelo de Augustine. Mirror.
Album ‘Chorusing. Secretly Group.

53:52 – 59:57  Moritz von Oswald Trio. Chapter 7.
Album ‘Dissent‘. Modern Recordings.