Lea Bertucci

Of Shadow and Substance

Genre: MODERN CLASSICAL / AMBIENT

LP (Black Vinyl)
CD

Boomkat Product Review:

Glacial, spiky, trance-inducing new ensemble works from Lea Bertucci, featuring two extended compositions for harp, strings, percussion and electronics, layered into swirls of gaseous texture and sharp tonality. Highly recommended electroacoustic dreamweaving, tipped if you’re into Lucy Railton, Leila Bordreuil, Alvin Lucier.

There isn't anything on Lea Bertucci's excellent last solo album 'A Visible Length of Light' that would give much of a hint as to where she would go next. On 'Of Shadow and Substance', she takes foundational blocks cast on her jaw-dropping 'Murmurations' collaboration with Ben Vida to formulate new material that's deep and invigorating. The same unusual, real-time mixing techniques are put into practice on the title track ‘Of Shadow and Substance’, working into elements provided by bassist Henry Fraser, cellist Lester St. Louis, harpist Lucia Stravros and percussionist Matt Evans. “It is a meditation on time travel” Bertucci tells us, asking the listener to consider the way events from the past propel themselves into the future. Towards the end of the 22 minute piece, all those frayed elements coalesce into a stunning Raga-esque exhalation that’s emotionally and spiritually engrossing.

On 'Vapours', Bertucci collaborates with Italy’s Quartetto Maurice to create a textural movement that retreats from the idea of single melodies or solos, preferring to focus on the power that an ensemble has when working as a single unit. Bertucci's processing here is radically minimalist, sometimes almost imperceptible. Strings are stretched, phased and blurred, forcing the listener to consider the nature of sound itself by locking into unusual timbral interactions, using just intonation techniques to enrich a sense of deep, historical significance.

If 'A Visible Length of Light' was Bertucci's attempt at transforming elements of jazz, folk and gospel into atemporal, expressive abstraction, 'Of Shadow and Substance' does the same with experimental minimalism, intensifying and subverting its core sound to a point of near-delirium. It highlights Bertucci once again as an artist whose conceptual curiosity always seems to lead her down fascinating new ginnels, and it’s always a pleasure to tag along for the ride.

LP (Black Vinyl) (2)

Limited Edition vinyl, comes with a download of the album dropped to your account. Recorded by Luca Morino and Chris Madak. Mixed by Lea Bertucci. Mastered by Greg Obis

Play All LP (Black Vinyl) (2)