Suzanne Ciani´s more recent collaboration "Golden Apples of the Sun"
- by Martín Cacho
- in Reviews
If you've landed here without knowing who Suzanne Ciani is, a quick search of the name will unveil a lengthy career in sound design, composition, and even logo creation. She's worked on notable sound design commissions for Coca-Cola, designed logos for over 500 companies, and her innovative compositions have earned her 5 Grammy awards throughout her career.
In collaboration with the Parisian composer Jonathan Fitoussi, the album they present today is entirely crafted using a Moog One, field recordings and an intriguing modular synthesizer called "Buchla."
In press statements, she has disclosed that the music draws inspiration from William Butler Yeats' poem "The Song of Wandering Aengus." It's easy to see how the influence of poetry shapes this musical endeavor.
Let's briefly revisit the essence of poetry. Far from the viral romantic snippets flooding the internet, poetry isn't about delivering cheesy lines with a high dose of edge and cringe. In reality, poetry revolves around the auditory experience; it doesn't necessarily need to make logical sense. As Nietzsche remarked in "Genealogy of Morals," a poem only truly makes sense when read aloud. Speaking specifically about the content of a poem, the chosen words typically serve to create vivid imagery, akin to painting but using words.
This album seems to approach music in a similar synesthetic manner. The sound design and the craftsmanship of melodies and textures conjure various scenarios and spark the imagination with pictorial abstractions and objects:
"Spirit Rock" resonates like a complete marimba set made of translucent minerals and crystals. "Coral Reef”´s beautiful short-repetitive structures evokes undulating light traversing the bottom of a colorful coral ecosystem." In "Time Lapse," a lead with an exquisite portamento and a sharply defined timbre feels so tangible, as if it might materialize before you and cut your head into two. "Sonar" features melodies with phrasing phases that expand and accelerate intermittently, creating a sense of time warping. The ebb and flow of sound in "Oceanium" resembles those nights when you visit the beach, lying near the shore, waiting for the waves to cover you just below your shins.
When listening to this, I recommend focusing on the timbre. With the exception of 'Sonar,' the songs do not have a high dose of polyphony, aural origami, or mosaic melodies. The music is more about repetitive small structures with masterfully crafted timbres that evoke specific colors and magical imagination.
For those who want to travel but don't feel like taking a plane, please listen to this while lying down in bed or sitting comfortably on the sofa. You will surely embark on a journey!
