RADIANCE II\u00a0Music for the Answer <\/a>| CD + Digital | limited edition of 400 |\u00a0June 2016<\/p>\nThe subscription series is an idea that has gained traction in recent years. \u00a0With two popular series just ending (from Justin Small and William Ryan Fritch), we\u2019re happy to introduce a brand new one:\u00a0Stephan Mathieu<\/b>\u2018s 12-part\u00a0RADIANCE. \u00a0<\/i>This series of monthly album releases will culminate in a limited box set that consumers can enjoy piece-by-piece as it is released. \u00a0Mathieu calls this a single \u201cgrowing album\u201d that invites \u201cslow listening\u201d, which is just beautiful. \u00a0We liken the opening timbres and overall concept to last year\u2019s conceptual\u00a0Sleep<\/i>, the major difference being that Max Richter\u2019s album was released all at once.<\/span><\/p>\nWhile listening to\u00a0Alap for Steel Needle, Record and Theorbe,\u00a0<\/i>one can already sense the radiance. \u00a0These drones, punctuated by occasional plucks, shimmer like heat puddles, now-here, now-absent, seeming to fluctuate while staying in one place. \u00a0This opening salvo of the series is an effective prelude in that it establishes the level of quality without giving much away. \u00a0But what is a theorbe, one might ask? \u00a0We\u2019ll do the Wikiwork for you: it\u2019s a long-necked lute instrument with bass strings, primarily used in 17th and 18th century music. \u00a0This knowledge is the entry point to the album, recorded with lutist\u00a0Peter S\u00f6derberg. \u00a0One might consider it the reflection of a smudge of a skeleton: a group of pitches re-recorded and looped from an early recording by Arnold Dolmetsch, interacting with live acoustics. \u00a0The plucks reappear at the end, setting up the bonus material: a two-minute classical segment and a 40-minute tape loop, the innards of the body.<\/span><\/p>\nThe second installment,\u00a0Music is the Answer,\u00a0<\/i>is the score to Cedric Eymenier\u2019s film\u00a0The Answer.<\/i> \u00a0This time around, Mathieu teams up with France Jobin, the two offering alternating tracks that together form a whole. \u00a0(The only oddity: the sequencing of pieces out of numerical order.) \u00a0Two of Jobin\u2019s contributions continue the dronelike theme of Alap<\/i>, with additional harmonic variation; the other two dredge bell tones to the surface like echoes from a drowned church. \u00a0\u201cThe Answer VII\u201d is the more restrained of this pair, with static loops acting as light waves. \u00a0Play \u201cThe Answer V\u201d next, and one will hear the volume of the bells rise, as if breaking the barrier between water and air. \u00a0Electronic pings join the sonic field mid-piece, surrendering to a tonal smear by the finale. \u00a0Mathieu responds with three segments of \u201cSea Song\u201d (I, IV and V), allowing for a great range of measured motion, especially in the organ-toned first. \u00a0The trailer (seen below) puts it all together; the film, a meditation on travel, has found the perfect score.<\/span><\/p>\nWhere will\u00a0RADIANCE\u00a0<\/i>head next? \u00a0The list of upcoming releases includes a number of intriguing titles, including albums inspired by Hieronymous Bosch, Franz Wright, Kepler and the movie Vampyr<\/i>, and instruments ranging from gramophones to shortwave radios. \u00a0We\u2019ll be keeping a close ear on this series, and we\u2019re already looking forward to the next installment! \u00a0(Richard Allen)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" RADIANCE II\u00a0Music for the Answer | CD + Digital | limited edition of 400 |\u00a0June 2016 The subscription series is an idea that has gained traction in recent years. \u00a0With two popular series just ending (from Justin Small and William Ryan Fritch), we\u2019re happy to introduce a brand new one:\u00a0Stephan Mathieu\u2018s 12-part\u00a0RADIANCE. \u00a0This series … <\/p>\n
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