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Nick Dunston: Colla Voce
ByAssembled from sessions in Berlin and NYC, Dunston calls on a 13-strong crew that includes the JACK string quartet, an array of other strings, the voice of the phenomenal Sofia Jernberg together with two others, a drummer and his own bass and electronics. In the liners, Dunston terms this an anti-opera. Certainly there is little operatic about it, but it could be pretty much the antithesis of anything else you care to name as well. His is a singular conception.
As if introducing a cast of characters, Dunston programs the various flavors that make up the mix over the first few tracks. The opening "Ova'churr" passes in an electronic vortex, with ethereal voices a subliminal presence. The following cut "Designated Antagonist" comprises abrupt string swipes, thwacks and drones as the JACK quartet leaps into action. Then on "Pseudocorridor" more strings underpinned by a repeating bass figure, before the entrance of an echoey doom metal bass/drum/guitar trio.
Although densely populated, many pieces feature only subsets of the assembled throng, which increasingly recur in bewildering combinations towards the end of the 13 tracks. Post-production processing contributes to the brain scrambling effect. Distorted or muffled voices and instruments wax and wane alongside untreated sound sources in a kaleidoscope of different textures, like the soundtrack to a dystopian film fragmented through a prism. Dunston's vision takes on orchestral dimensions in the grand finale of the title number, where the vocalists variously croak, whisper and soar in a culmination of sorts.
Not only do each of Dunston's releases confound expectations, they do so while sounding like no-one else. Where next? Impossible to say but, as here, you can guarantee a wild ride.
Track Listing
Ova’churr; Designated Antagonist; Pseudocorridor; Blinding, Joyous, Fearful; Fully Turbulent; Lo and Behold; Hydrogen; Argon; Oxygen; Anglo-Adjacent Phonetic Approximations; Nearly Turbulent; A Rolling Wave of Everything; Colla Voce.
Personnel
Nick Dunston
bassCansu Tanrikulu
vocalsSofia Jernberg
vocalsisabel crespo pardo
authorFriederike Merz
vocalsMaria Reich
violinAnil Eraslan
celloTal Yahalom
guitarMoritz Baumgärtner
drumsAdditional Instrumentation
Nick Dunston: compositions, post-processing; Cansu Tanrıkulu; live processing; Maria Reich: viola; Moritz Baumgärtner: percussion, megaphone; Weston Olencki: producer.
Album information
Title: Colla Voce | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Out Of Your Head Records
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