Layers of Afternoon

曖昧な時間の層を奏でる-Goldmundが描く音の風景
バイオリンをフィーチャーした新たな世界

今作は、ある種の時間の経験を反映することを意図している―それは具体的でありながら曖昧で、感じ取ることはできても簡単には言葉にできないものだ。こうした瞬間は時に短く、時に長く続くが、常に私たちの内面に影響を与えるパターンとして現れる。私たちはそれらの特別さを認識しつつも、無意識のうちにそのパターンを見つけて浸ることを求めるのかもしれない。Keith Kennif(Goldmund)にとって、言葉はこうした経験を伝えるには不十分であり、芸術や音楽こそがその特別さを捉える最も近い手段だと考えている。彼はこう語る『Layers of Afternoon』はその"狭間"の場所を見つけ、そこから作曲することを目指しました。目標や音楽的な訓練、複雑な感情から解放された理想的な世界としての私の経験を表現したかったのです。この空間を訪れ、創作の中で自由に"瞬間"が浮遊するようにしたかった。」ヴァイオリニストのScott Mooreと共に彼はノスタルジアと儚い存在の間を漂う音の風景を生み出し、聴く者を記憶のぼやけた境界線へと誘うのです。

Keith Kenniffs ambient piano compositions under the Goldmund moniker are a very specific type of pristine minimalism. Often arriving in cloaks of reverb or atmospheric room sounds, Goldmund songs usually serve as vessels of nostalgia and beautiful melancholy. The notes hang almost formlessly, allowing their structures and gentle melodies to melt into a vastness. For the most part, Kenniff has kept Goldmund focused on the piano, but hes moved from the Erik Satie-esque spareness of early recordings like 2008s The Malady of Elegance to more full-bodied arrangements, incorporating electronics and decaying tape-recorded sounds on 2020s The Time It Takes. Layers of Afternoon is another subtle step forward for the project, this time finding Kenniffs piano unfurling alongside equally thoughtful violin from Scott Moore. The dialogue between the two takes the music out of its usual watery state to more solid ground. Tracks like "The One Who Stands Still" are still restrained and spacious, with Moores violin moving carefully between Kenniffs drawn-out chords. Eventually, the two instruments merge into a cloud of combined sounds, no longer fully discernible from one another by the songs end. "The Broad Belt of the World" is similar, with a few floating piano notes creating a slow-moving space for Moores violin tracks to bloom into a complex melodic progression, ultimately dissolving into wobbly cassette-tape artifacts. At times, the two players lock into unexpected unison parts. This shows up as both simple, longing figures on more subdued tracks like "We Begin Anew," and also precise harmonized string and piano arrangements in the lush grandeur of "Long Memories." As with every Goldmund offering, Layers of Afternoon is less concerned with technical expertise than it is with continuing to develop the emotional language Kenniff has been chasing since this projects inception. The tonality of these instrumental songs can be yearning, remorseful, contemplative, or softly joyous, capturing the feeling of sitting in a silent room as the day passes outside, remembering both the triumphs and defeats of days past. At this point, Kenniff is a master of capturing this particular mood. The newfound element of violin on Layers of Afternoon adds depth and character to the Goldmund sound without taking it too far from its mission statement of exploring its chosen moods. Again, Goldmund finds the sound of unspoken moments, guiding nostalgia for the past and hopefulness for the future to a quiet place in the present where they can get a good look at one another. ~ Fred Thomas

アンビエントなピアノ・サウンドを主体としたポスト・クラシカルの代表格:ゴールドムンドの2025年作。"ヘリオス"など多様なコンセプトに隔てた変名プロジェクトや妻ホーリー・ケニフとのユニット"ミント・ジュレップ"でも活動するキース・ケニフ。"具体的でありながら曖昧で、感じ取ることはできても簡単には言葉にできないもの。言葉はこうした経験を伝えるには不十分であり、芸術や音楽こそがその特別さを捉える最も近い手段"と語る彼の描く音の風景。ヴァイオリニスト:スコット・ムーアと共に儚い存在の間を漂う音の風景を生み、聴く者を記憶のぼやけた境界線へと誘う。ええやんええやん。
intoxicate (C)黒田"ハイプ"朋規