Rooted in rich and varied musical backgrounds while sharing a deep love of free improvisation, gabby fluke-mogul, Matteo Liberatore, Joanna Mattrey, and Ava Mendoza explore an expansive range of sonic possibilities. The quartet integrates electronic and acoustic approaches to create a powerfully distinctive alchemy.

This is a true collective, formed by Joanna Mattrey but explicitly leaderless. Much of improvised music is defined by its conception, and with Mattrey’s unique choice of companions the stage was set for a thrilling new kind of “string quartet.”

The group recorded in February 2021 during the pandemic, in upstate New York. From the get-go the quartet’s chemistry, vast timbral palette, and propulsive connection were clear. The sheer joy and excitement of playing again after months of isolation were palpable. But also keenly felt was the weight of last year’s pervasive loss, separation, and death. If there was ever the slightest doubt, the recent past had made it clear: the same social power dynamics that define people’s lives also determine the how and when of their deaths. The group dove into these depths--coming up for air as necessary.

Death In the Gilded Age was born out of those disparate feelings. Amplified acoustic instruments and electric guitar gel and spike, countering and reinforcing each other. All four players move seamlessly between noise and melody, extended technique and traditional playing. They employ a vast sonic arsenal but are extremely attentive at balancing each other out in real time. They don’t shy away from melody, though often one player’s melodic elements are balanced by another’s abstract or noisy approach. This creates a unique blend of beautiful and controlled intensity, in which even the quiet moments are kinetically charged. The music maintains its immediacy without rushing.

Death In the Gilded Age is offered humbly and with respect, as a meditation on loss and on new life. 

게시물이 없습니다

리뷰작성 모두보기

게시물이 없습니다

문의하기 모두보기