Fennesz + Sakamoto - Flumina - 2CD

Product no.: TONE46

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Fennesz + Sakamoto - Flumina - 2CD
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Touch - TONE 46 -2CD  - 5027803904620

The 24 pieces of "Flumina" are based on piano compositions/improvisations which Ryuichi Sakamoto had recorded whilst touring in Japan. On that tour Ryuichi played a piano piece in a different key at the beginning of every show, always having a "Fennesz Sakamoto" project in mind. After 24 shows he had 24 tracks in 24 different keys, covering all 24 tonal steps of the western tonal system. Sakamoto sent the tracks over to Christian Fennesz and he worked on them using electronics, guitars and synths. They met in New York then and mixed the album together with Fernando Aponte at KAB Studios.

This double disc is a collaboration between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz, with the former man taking a decidedly dominant role throughout. The concept behind the album is fairly straightforward: on each night of a 24-date tour, Sakamoto wrote and performed a piano piece in a different key. By tour's end, he'd explored every possible tonal variation within Western notation. He provided these short, jewel-like solo piano melodies to Fennesz, who laid them in soft beds of gently caressing electronics. The results are very pretty...but they're not much more than that. Flumina is a decidedly insubstantial album. Despite the key changes from track to track, the two discs retain a single mood from beginning to end. Each piece feels like it should be playing over the end credits of an indie film about a man who falls in love with a young woman who then dies of a lingering illness. It's hard to convince oneself to listen to this music with focused attention, hard to imagine playing it at top volume; it seems designed to hover in the background, covering the sound of clinking glassware and forks tapping plates and blending smoothly with subdued conversation. All of which is fine. If that's what you're looking for from a two-CD, two-hour set of music, Flumina will meet your needs and then some.

In addition to the reference to Cage, it’s impossible not to relate Cendre to two other key piano and electronics recordings: Harold Budd and Brian Eno’s The Pearl and Sakamoto’s ongoing collaboration with German artist Alva Noto. cendre is ultimately closer to Budd and Eno’s work as no overt rhythms trouble or pierce Sakamoto’s playing. The amount of space the two performers allow each other is remarkable. Although the predominant initial impression is of Sakamoto’s piano, familiarity gradually reveals Fennesz’s contributions as equally rich and essential. cendre is a sure bet for lovers of sonic pulchritude.

 

CDOne, 12 tracks
 
01: 0318
02: 0319
03: 0320
04: 0322
05: 0324
06: 0325
07: 0327
08: 0328
09: 0330
10: 0401
11: 0402
12: 0404
 
CDTwo, 12 tracks
 
01: 0405
02: 0407
03: 0409
04: 0411
05: 0415
06: 0417
07: 0419
08: 0423
09: 0424
10: 0425
11: 0428
12: 0429
 

 

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