Covert art By Briallen Lim-Klumpes
OCD036 : Adrian Lim-Klumpes / Yield (Preludes & Fugues for Piano)
Known as the frontman of critically acclaimed post-jazz bands, Triosk, 3ofmillions, and currently, Tangents, Adrian’s sound has been described as:
“ exceedingly lyrical; pianist Adrian Klumpes has found a path to the ‘sparkling water cascading down from some clear waterfall’ sound Miles Davis so admired in Bill Evans' playing” (Pitchfork)
Yield is a new collection of captivating tracks, showcasing Adrian’s unique ability to develop improvised ideas into fully rounded and complex works.
The 52-minute album is a selection of performances captured in one six-hour session on
a Steinway piano and is awash with his signature blending of minimalism, lyrical piano, jazz harmony and electronics to create polyphonic textures that shift in mood from track to track.
Adrian describes Yield’s exploration of solo piano composition as, in part, a homage to Bach’s piano work ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’. Certainly, with its arrangement into paired preludes and fugues, and its multi-layered harmonies, the album speaks to a classical piano tradition, yet equally we hear the influence of modern pianists such as John Cage, Bill Evans, Philip Glass, Harold Budd and Chris Abrahams.
The tracks on Yield were created in pairs, designed for the listener to hear corresponding echoes between pieces.
The first pair of tracks, Watch and Follow , begin with a gentle, spacious melody, highlighted by glistening electronic accents. Then what are controlled washes of color in Watch become urgent brushstrokes in Follow, as the motif is taken over by pulsing rhythms and a driving tempo.
Similarly the various pairs on the album; Caution and Chase, Wait and Rush, Process and Control, Move and Remain, reveal both the delicacy and expressiveness of Adrian's playing
alongside his skilful manipulation of the different shades that come from dramatic shifts in dynamic expression and tonal color.
To listen to the album in full is to be led through a narrative of tension and resolution.
Across the ten tracks of Yield, Adrian explores a range of emotion, from feelings of violence, loneliness, and pain, to those of peace, warmth, tenderness and fragility.
Yield is an album which, like a kaleidoscope, reveals new colors and dimensions with each
listen.
Fans of his previous solo work Be Still (Leaf Label, 2006) will be satisfied by his continued push at the boundaries of post-classical, post-jazz aesthetics, and new listeners will be enchanted by their transportation into Adrian’s evocative aural world.
A great review in The Sydney Morning Herald here.
A great review in The Sydney Morning Herald here.
More info, bio and news about Adrian's work and bio here.
A nice review from Norman records here.
The video of 'Move':
Adrian Klumpes - Move (Official Video) from James Vernon on Vimeo.
I leave Mandy Stefanakis in Musictrust.com telling you her first encounter with the album:
“Don’t venture too far in a car whilst listening to this incredible album lest you find yourself in a quite different modus operandi from which it is pleasingly difficult to return.”
"The titles of tracks are a series of verbs, action words, though some are more active, Chase, for example, than others, such as Remain. But the titles are just a tiny reminder to the listener of the kinaesthetic and temporal nature of music and if one could suggest an overall theme here, this is it – the whole body/sound/mind gestalt utterly envelopes one – which is why I got lost. On Caution, for example, Lim-Klumpes speaks of the two improvised layers drowning the listener. The two voices are at extreme ends of the piano, the growly bass notes entering first. Adrian has digitally manipulated their pitch so that they become ever so slightly raised or lowered even in the one sound. He also adds echo so that sounds connect with each other. He enhances the ring of the upper notes in this way, where harmonics do not naturally provide such resonance as with lower tones, and builds both, so one really does feel utterly immersed in sound. Indeed, sound invades the body completely."
Read the complete review here!
Read the complete review here!
Adrian and his Steinway
The liner notes written by Adrian himself can be downloaded HERE.
Yield is part of a larger project of twenty-four preludes and fugues in every key.
Physical and digital release on the 10th of November.
Track listing:
1: Watch
2: Follow
3: Caution
4:Chase
5: Wait
6: Rush
7: Process
8: Control
9: Move
10: Remain
Track listing:
1: Watch
2: Follow
3: Caution
4:Chase
5: Wait
6: Rush
7: Process
8: Control
9: Move
10: Remain
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