CD – Aural Terrains

Zafiros En El Barro is published by Aural Terrains, a label focusing on electroacoustics, improvisation and refined extreme sounds. The authors of this release are Thanos Chrysakis, Ken Slaven, James O’Sullivan and Jerry Wigens: all musicians used to performing intricate and fascinating freeform elaborations using laptops, percussion, guitar, clarinet and violin. If we look at the backgrounds of the musicians we unsurprisingly find some world music and abstract jazz influences. The work is so well balanced that it moves beyond familiar styles: there is a fusion of different cultures and approaches that are particularly reactive throughout all the elaborations, subtle melodies and fluttering rhythms. The authors have succeeded in not crystallizing any expression, managing to escape from the iterations and revealing some vital synthony. There are seven tracks on the album of variable length (from three to fourteen minutes) and they are characterized by changes in dynamics and atonal developments. At the same time the work presents popular influences and refined dissonances, a mixture of high and low culture: the circularity and the reciprocal interaction of the elements giving life to intense relationships. However, in spite of the inner complexity of the textures, the basic elements are well outlined. On the other side, improvisation is a clear element of the work: the sounds are sometimes more broad, sometimes presenting more restrained and immaterial caesuras that are elegant and dreamy, flitting between alluring and bashful modes.

 

Chrysakis, Slaven, O’Sullivan, Wigens — Zafiros En El Barro