The Closest Thing to Silence

仏アンビエント～電子音楽界の巨匠アリエル・カルマがインターナショナル・アンセムの究極タッグ、ジェレミア・チウ&マルタ・ソフィア・ホナーとのコラボ作品『ザ・クローゼスト・シング・トゥ・サイエンス』リリース!

フランスで生まれた仏アンビエント～電子音楽界の巨匠アリエル・カルマがBBCラジオ3の特別コラボレーション番組「レイト・ジャンクション」シリーズをきっかけに、インターナショナル・アンセムのレコーディング・アーティストであるアメリカ・カリフォルニアのモジュラー奏者ジェレミア・チウとバイオリン奏者マルタ・ソフィア・ホナーと出会い、コラボ作品『ザ・クローゼスト・シング・トゥ・サイエンス』をリリース!このタイトルは、RVNG Intlが2014年にリリースしたコンペンディウム/レトロスペクティブ『An Evolutionary Music』のドキュメンタリーに収録されたカルマの言葉から取られている。このコラボが生み出す音楽はジャスとエレクトロの垣根を超え聴くものを未知なる世界へと導いていく!

French experimental musician, new age pioneer, and global traveler Ariel Kalma has been making music for most of his life, but largely remained obscure until some of his early records were reissued in the 21st century, and RVNG Intl. released the remarkable Evolutionary Music anthology of previously unreleased works in 2014. Since then, Kalma has been united with several major figures of contemporary experimental electronic music, most notably Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (as part of RVNGs acclaimed FRKWYS series) and Sarah Davachi. The Closest Thing to Silence is a collaboration with synthesizer musician Jeremiah Chiu and violist Marta Sofia Honer, who both release music on the International Anthem label. The three musicians first collaborated for BBC Radio 3s Late Junction series in 2022, then expanded their work into a full-length. The record is based in improvisation, and edited together in a collage incorporating recordings Kalma made at pioneering electo-acoustic studio GRM in the 70s, as well as snippets of his spoken instructions to the other musicians. Like some of Kalmas earliest work, the music is filled with swirling, Terry Riley-esque loops, particularly on the hypnotic "Breathing in Three Orbits," but the sounds veer from cyclical patterns and trippy effects to cool, bubbling synth sequences, following an ever-shifting current. The overall tone is uplifting as well as curious, with selections like "Une Ombre Legere" taking on a more spiritual aura. "A Treasure Chest" is mesmerizing, with its various elements (clicking beats, chirping crickets, synth sparkles) coexisting without quite following the same rhythm, before Honers heavenly viola playing stands out near the end. "Stack Attack" also starts out with a detached beat sequence before clearing out and giving Honer room to shine. All three musicians drive each other into previously uncharted directions, making The Closest Thing to Silence a spirited and successful collaboration. ~ Paul Simpson