Christina Vantzou, No. 4, Kranky, 2018

Christina Vantzou's excellent new album, No. 4, on the Kranky label,
has been called
“ambient classical minimalism”
but this characterization downplays
​some of the organic, complex, and enigmatic beauties of the work.

Vantzou says that she used
“sleep and the loosening of time”
in her creative process,
and her work clearly reflects
this way of doing things,
​with its emotionality
​and global meditative atmospheres.

There are moments in this mesmerizing recording that resonate
with the music of Hildegard von Bingen,
​with voices in a polyphonic ethereal space,
with the polyphony often implied rather than explicit, a neat trick indeed.

This engages the listener's mind
and imagination
​to such an extent
that the listener becomes part of the piece,
creating it in his or her own mind,
which is what the best art must always do.

Vantzou's No. 4 has a surprising variety
of sound structures and modes,
which elevate it beyond what is usually thought of as “ambient” music.
​In fact, the work has a strong narrative feel to it; and at the same time a “timeless”, outside-of-history feel.
​This contrast between linear narration and atemporal space creates a fullness and balance to the work as a whole.
No. 4 is also impressive for the number of collaborators involved in the project, and for the seamless quality of the sound and structure.
​The collaborators (among them John Also Bennett, Angel Deradoorian, and members of Belgium's Echo Collective) were allowed considerable freedom of spontaneity within a structure of premeditated ideas and textures.
The result is a strong and cohesive
​sonic universe.

Vantzou's No. 4 is available as a download, and as a beautifully designed LP or CD.

In the USA, from Bandcamp
In the UK and Europe, from Boomkat

John M. Bennett
Luna Bisonte Prods