:
'
.. .:.... . ' '
______________ : ________ : '
\ / .. .:. .. \ / : :
\ /_________ \ / . .. ... .. . :
.\ / /___ /\ \ / ______________ ___ _.
: \ / / \ / \ \/ / \ \ \ \ \
. ...:..\ / _______/ \/ \ ___/__ / / / / /
: /\ / / \ \/ \ / / / . sH!
' / \/ / / / \ / / . ... .:.... .. .
:/ _______/ / / / _______/__ ___ __
.\ / / / / / / / / / / /
\ / / / / / / / / / / / .
. \ /\______/ / / / / \___ / / :
\/ ____ \ / / / / / :
\ / \ /\____/\ / / : :
________\/ \ / \ / / : '
\ / \/ \ /\ / : . ..:.. .
\ / \/ \ /
\ / \ / . '
: \/ F A N G \ / : '
____ \ / . . .. .. .:.. .
\ / presents \ / .
. \/ \/ :
: .
..:.. ,
: Artist......: An Laurence
: Album.......: Almost Touching :
: Label.......: People Places Records .. .:.. .
Genre.......: Avantgarde :
Catnr.......: PPR033 .
' Source......: CD ,
; Rip.date....: 2023-02-08
Str.date....: 2022-05-22
Quality.....: 235kbps/44.1kHz/Joint Stereo . :..
.:. Url.........: http://an-laurence.ca '
' ,
________ ________
\ / \ /
\ / \ /
\ / # title time \ /
\/ \/
Disc 1 / 2
--------
1. Artificial Light 3:58
2. Almost Touching (asymptote) 8:28
3. Chants d'amour : et tu respires encore 2:06
4. Chants d'amour : tunnel 8:46
5. Chants d'amour : introduction 10:17
6. Chants d'amour : I riviere 3:05
7. Chants d'amour : II roches (grande fugue) 3:07
8. Chants d'amour : III chanson pour M 3:43
9. Chants d'amour : interlude 2:57
Disc 2 / 2
--------
1. Chants d'amour : IV nuit 1 3:38
2. Chants d'amour : V chant d'amour 12:42
3. Chants d'amour : VI nuit 2, 3, 4 5:28
4. Chants d'amour : VII riviere 2 6:20
5. Reconciling Duality 9:24
6. Nocturne 8:33
7. Untitled 3:47
______
\ / ________ Runtime 96:19
,\ /... . . .... .... \ / ' Size 171.51______
:\/ ', \ / , \ /
' '... ..\ /.. .. .....:. .. .... .. . ..\ /.
: Release Notes: \/ , \/ ,
' '
,: It's easy to forget just how permeable the boundary between :,
: complete vulnerability and unbridled power is. The fact that :
:' it's so seldom that we witness the transition between these two ':
,: states is part of what makes the debut recording of multifaceted :,
: Tiohtiα:ke/ MontrΘal-based-performer An Laurence so compelling. :
:' Much of Almost Touching's generous duration is spent exploring ':
,: that very border and its adjacent sonic territory through solo :,
: works for guitar, voice, and electronics by a diverse array of :
:' living composers. ':
,: :,
: The album opens with the opaque hush of Artifcial Light, by Nova :
:' Scotian composer and fellow guitarist Amy Brandon whose work ':
,: has been described as '... mesmerizing' (Musicworks Magazine), :,
: "otherworldly and meditative ... [a] clashing of bleakness with :
:' beauty ..." (Minor Seventh) and '.. an intricate dance of ':
,: ancient and futuristic sounds' by acclaimed jazz guitarist Miles :,
: Okazaki. Atop an elusive backing of electronically-smeared :
:' guitar sound, Brandon superimposes an arpeggiated futter of ':
,: activity that An Laurence executes with warmth and precision. :,
: :
:' Kim Farris-Manning, the composer of the album's titular work, ':
,: is a close collaborator of the guitarist. The two of them work :,
: together as Paramorph Collective creating category-defying :
:' interdisciplinary pieces that employ sound, poetry, performance ':
,: and various visual components. The eerie intimacy Almost :,
: Touching (asymptote) was a precursor to Paramorph and :
:' foreshadows the multifarious approach of their later joint ':
,: output. Beginning with over a minute of near-silent variations :,
: on breath, An Laurence's sudden gasps signal the entry of the :
:' guitar and slow, sung text from poet Joδl Pourbaix. While much ':
,: of the piece retains this quiet sparsity, it is punctuated with :,
: unexpected bursts of raucous urgency. :
:' ':
,: Where Farris-Manning maps a volatile, sensitive landscape :,
: through carefully placed contrasts and a disarming and elemental :
:' use of the voice, Elischa Kaminer's puzzling, hour-long Chants ':
,: d'amour makes audacious leaps between disparate sonic worlds. :,
: The work willfully inhabits the fragility and discomfort of :
:' these naked juxtapositions (and their potential to mystify ':
,: listeners), all the steering clear of conventional :,
: ôconfrontationalö tropes. Over the span of its varied eleven :
:' movements, intricate braids of notes give way to extended ':
,: whispered recitations, that are disrupted by bald synthetic :,
: dissonances. Elsewhere, interlocking microtonal gestures sit :
:' next to an abstract vision of 'shoegaze' yet with each of its ':
,: successive discontinuities the work increases in poignancy and :,
: idiosyncratic personal depth. :
:' ':
,: Shelley Marwood's Reconciling Duality marks a return to a more :,
: familiar terrain, but is no less potent. Marwood's unravelling :
:' guitar tremolos of various intensities and shadesùfrom strident ':
,: shouts to dim murmursùserve as a running gestural theme :,
: throughout the work's fractured, colourful, lyricism. An :
:' Laurence's performance seizes the evocative potential of every ':
,: moment, whether it's a surging contrapuntal line, pregnant :,
: pause, or isolated delicate sonority. :
:' ':
,: Nocturne by UK composer Arthur Keegan-Bole constructs a surreal, :,
: dream-like space through its peculiar guitar and electronics :
:' exchanges. While the electronic part drifts between ':
,: referencesùsweeping Technicolor strings, the sine tone pips of :,
: the Greenwich Time Signalùthe guitar seems to act as a :
:' mysterious narrator that leads the listener throughout speaking ':
,: a language only it understands. :,
: :
:' ':
: '
'.. ..'
.. . :........... . . . . ............: . .
______________ ______________
\ / \ /
\ / GREETS: \ /
\ / \ /
\ / iPC BOSS HiT2000 1way UKi i8 RNS \ /
\ / MANDY DV8 pLAN9 BUTT \ /
\ / \ /
\/ ____ ____ \/
\ / F A N G \ /
\/ \/