New Release Friday: Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Glass (Ambient)
'Glass' by Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto
released February 16, 2018 (NOTON)
German minimalist, Alva Noto, and Japanese noise and experimental savant, Ryuichi Sakamoto, have once again partnered their collective specialties to craft an album. 'Glass' is a piece that is layered, nuanced and wherein moments of extreme calm and unease seem to coexist across a field of movement so subtle, the texture of unsanded glass might just be the most apt comparison.
The duo are probably best known for their collaborative work that created the sprawling, frozen atmospheric soundscape adding emotional and suspenseful dimensions to Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s celebrated and multi-award winning frontier period thriller, 'The Revenant'.
This improvisational piece showcasing the sonic mastery of two of the most innovative and celebrated avant composers is named 'Glass' in honor of its site-specific recording. The album was recorded within Philip Johnson’s Glass House, a historic piece of modern architecture located in New Canaan, Connecticut of the United States.
Taking advantage of the unique sonic properties of the glass enclosure, the natural reverb and striking resonant tones, the composers showcase their natural synchronization as sonic partners, flowing through organic movements punctuated by sharp crystalline rings and eerie vocal tones and beds.
The tone of the album is one of a calm contemplation, a natural extension from the hearts' of their creators.
Below is the promotional video shot by Derrick Belcham of the live performance, which I think is one of the most powerful ways to experience the intensity and genius of the piece. If any of my words have found a place of resonance with you, please watch these masters of the craft perform their art.
Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto site specific performance at the Glass House
from The Glass House on Vimeo.
Ambient, Drone
for fans of: Akira Kosemura, Philip Glass, William Basinski
to purchase this album: amazon
stream: spotify
Thoughts on this album?
Let me know in the comments below!
I really the works of Ryuichi Sakamoto. This piece together with Alva Noto sounds really good; Amazing things can be achieved with glass.
Yeah, Ryuichi's backlog is filled with nothing but classics, all the way up to last years Async. I love the pairs collaborative work, I think they bring the best out of each other - Alva Noto with the interesting beds and layering of sounds, and Ryuichi with his ear for melodies and experimental, outside-the-box approaches.
The video excerpt of the album in particular is so powerful - so glad that it found a place of resonance with you, as well as the glass. ^_^
Yeh, I love this kind of music! Async is a really great album as well, I posted about it some months ago. Love experimental-ish music, music that doesn't conform the standards.
Quite fascinating, using the resonance of glass to add to the musical composition is quite genius. The music itself is quite haunting, such a wide variety of different and unusual instruments - but some how the combined composition works perfectly. Wonderful share, I was amazed by this.
#thealliance
Very cool song/sound! Thank you for sharing something i never would have heard if I had not seen your post
That's really amazing sound and so cool to se the different instruments that is nothing like I've seen before 😊 really beautiful. Thank you for sharing. Cheers!
Thank you, my weekend DJ.