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Sound composers, or audio-visual artists are a strange breed of people. They seem to live in their own world and create things that are simply unimaginable to others. These artists have a special gift: the ability to hear music everywhere. Busy roads become drones, pouring rain becomes percussion and empty buildings become temples of resonance. There is indeed music everywhere, but to be able to experience it, you need to extend your definition of the word 'music'. Many people have been doing that during the past decades and a lot of brilliant albums have been released, bringing joy to thousands.
Heitor Alvelos is a name that might ring a bell. Besides his own projects like The Tapeworm, Autodigest or Antifluffy, he cooperated with the likes of Biosphere, Fennesz & BJ Nilsen, mainly providing photos and stage visuals. This latest release, the first one under his own name, is a very personal and autobiographic album. 'Faith' is the result of many years of field recording and sound manipulation. It's a strange album, excelling in minimalism.
The best way to listen to 'Faith' is not to listen to each song individually but to see it as a whole. The tracks vary from a bit under one minute to about ten minutes. The oddest thing is, nothing really happens. In fact, to the untrained ear, this sounds like one long, prosy drone. Within the elaborate soundscapes, there is little variation, no percussion and no melodies. However, I
deliberately avoid the word 'boring' because this is far from boring.
I admit, I had my doubts during the first few minutes of this album. Yet, this kind of music is not really to be just heard. This goes a lot deeper than most music does. It affects the brain and the body. The sounds resonate through the listener's intestines and calms them down. I know because of how I feel after listening to this album. Before I played it, I didn't feel so good. I ate (and drank) too much at a family reunion and my stomach was upset. However, two doses of 'Faith' and I'm feeling a lot better.
So yes, this is a class of music that many people will ignore, but those who know a great deal about ambient will realize that this is an excellent example of minimal experimental music. It also proves that we don't fully understand the true power of sound, at least not yet. This goes way deeper than your eardrums and most of it doesn't even enter your body there. (But don't think about that for too long). This is minimal ambient at its best, period.
Serge
Heitor Alvelos is a name that might ring a bell. Besides his own projects like The Tapeworm, Autodigest or Antifluffy, he cooperated with the likes of Biosphere, Fennesz & BJ Nilsen, mainly providing photos and stage visuals. This latest release, the first one under his own name, is a very personal and autobiographic album. 'Faith' is the result of many years of field recording and sound manipulation. It's a strange album, excelling in minimalism.
The best way to listen to 'Faith' is not to listen to each song individually but to see it as a whole. The tracks vary from a bit under one minute to about ten minutes. The oddest thing is, nothing really happens. In fact, to the untrained ear, this sounds like one long, prosy drone. Within the elaborate soundscapes, there is little variation, no percussion and no melodies. However, I
deliberately avoid the word 'boring' because this is far from boring.
I admit, I had my doubts during the first few minutes of this album. Yet, this kind of music is not really to be just heard. This goes a lot deeper than most music does. It affects the brain and the body. The sounds resonate through the listener's intestines and calms them down. I know because of how I feel after listening to this album. Before I played it, I didn't feel so good. I ate (and drank) too much at a family reunion and my stomach was upset. However, two doses of 'Faith' and I'm feeling a lot better.
So yes, this is a class of music that many people will ignore, but those who know a great deal about ambient will realize that this is an excellent example of minimal experimental music. It also proves that we don't fully understand the true power of sound, at least not yet. This goes way deeper than your eardrums and most of it doesn't even enter your body there. (But don't think about that for too long). This is minimal ambient at its best, period.
Serge
