An esteemed Brazilian composer with a penchant for experimental ideas, Carlos Ferreira brings plenty of instruments and reverb to these eight very different and exciting pieces that employ guitar tones, piano, clarinet, pipe organ, and also utilizes field recordings. His formula balances sound, space, time and memory, and places much emphasis on frequency, resonance and vibration.
“An Extension Of Breath” opens the listen with a restrained approach of light textures and organic sounds that possesses much beauty via the nature versus synthetic contrast. “Quietude I” follows, and indeed is calm, where bare tones and a darker appeal enter the mysterious six minutes of lightness.
In the middle, the louder and fuller “Naturaleza Muerta” is quite jarring thanks to the unpredictable and firm percussive ideas that are as iconoclastic as they are creative, while “Quietude II” drones on with a dense, nearly sludgy demeanor that’s got some sci-fi spirit to its mesmerizing character. “Artificial Lungs,” another exceptional piece, then shines a light on the eloquent piano playing alongside a very spacey backdrop of awe and wonder.
“Take Shelter” and “Organic Matter” finish off the eclectic listen, where the former emits waves of minimalistic gestures that are shrouded in a cryptic yet dreamy haze. The latter, and perhaps the best track, then uses the drums and percussion strategically amid the slightly ominous vision that is quite absorbing.
The album was fleshed out over two weeks, and with the help of Echo Ho, Lucas Protti and Manami Kakudo, whose movements blur into the fabric of Ferreira’s textures. Certainly a listen with an abundance of ambience, there’s also a lot of avant-garde, minimalism and engaging droning to take in, where parallels to Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros and La Monte Young will be appreciated.
