Blog Posts

Christina Vantzou, No. 4, Kranky, 2018

5/14/2018

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

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Thoughts of a Dot as it Travels a Surface

5/13/2018

4 Comments

Christina Vantzou & John Also Bennett
ZIN TAYLOR'S “THOUGHTS OF A DOT AS IT TRAVELS A SURFACE”
Shelter Press
LP from Forced Exposure
Download from Bandcamp

Thoughts of a Dot as it Travels a Surface, at Forced Exposure

More than just an example of blatant nepotism, I have to express my pleasure in this beautiful new recording by Christina Vantzou and my son, John Also Bennett. It consists of a sounding or interpretation of a visual work, a drawing by Zin Taylor on the walls of a gallery. Unlike Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, which is a suite of pieces, Vantzou and Bennett's work is a single long piece, (though several tracks are listed), evolving through numerous changes. It owes something to ambient music, but is much more developed and meaty than most such work, perhaps due to its grounding in a large visual artwork. The music involves the use of electronics, flute, and piano, and is, amazingly, a recording of a single live collaborative performance, a performance which fully engages one's attention, and rewards repeated listenings.

This work is a prime example of the interconnectivity and collaborative nature of the arts; for example, the fact that much sound poetry derives from asemic or visual poetry texts, which are sounded or performed as if they were scores, a practice much engaged in today in avant-garde literary, Fluxus, and performance venues today.

“Thoughts of a Dot as it Travels a Surface” is a beautifully produced high-quality LP with a large fold-out print of the art on which the performance is based, and ample textual discussions on the inner sleeve. Don't pass this one up!

Editor's Note: this article on Thoughts of a Dot as it Travels a Surface was originally published at EC on April 12, 2018 in the now obsolete/discontinued REVIEWS section. I have re-published it here on John's page by his request.

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Christina Vantzou, No. 4, Kranky, 2018

Thoughts of a Dot as it Travels a Surface

JOHN M. BENNETT
OPENS HIS MOUTH

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Christina Vantzou, No. 4, Kranky, 2018

Thoughts of a Dot as it Travels a Surface

JOHN M. BENNETTOPENS HIS MOUTH

Archives

JOHN M. BENNETT
OPENS HIS MOUTH