CD review
4 stars
Self-released (AK001)
Genevieve Lacey (recorders), Joe Talia (Revox B77, electronics & percussion) and Andrea Keller (piano)
A sizeable dollop of gratitude is due to the two-year Australia Council Fellowship program that has allowed composer Keller to create what she describes as “new music” with two “broad-minded” musical colleagues. It’s not surprising that this foray out of Keller’s comfort zone works so well — after all, her work is always lit brightly by the spark of originality, and that must be said also of Lacey and Talia.
All 14 pieces show cohesion and a sense of progression that reflect the musicians’ awareness of each other’s voices as well as a commitment to the journey and destination. Acoustic, electronic, prepared, improvised and composed elements are interwoven with subtlety, so that there is no feel of artificiality or domination by devices.
In the most compelling compositions — Far Away Here, Between Six & Six, Interlude, Collage IV and Stay — piano remains a powerful presence. Talia’s work on Revox B77 and electronics is discreet and evocative throughout. Lacey — in Nine Variations, Stay and Diddy Ditty for example — shows the versatility of her instrument in mood and affect.
This is experimental music, but the experiment works so well that any tentative hypotheses are subsumed by the successful outcome.
A standalone work, Boy, is available exclusively by digital download.
File between: Gest8, Origami
Favourites: Stay, Far Away Here
ROGER MITCHELL
Ausjazz Blog 