Pax Rec./Fire Museum
Helena Espvall : Nimis & Arx (US,rec.2005;pub.2006)***'
Helena Espvall currently plays with acid folkrock band Espers, but she also played with free/acidfolk artists like Fursaxa and Samara Lubelski as well as with the Vashti Bunyan tour band. On this release, she has her own visions explored on the cello. Most of all this is based upon improvisations on the cello itself, pure and direct, but also through exploring challenging new tonal interactions on the cello, on the edge of tonal colours it is able to produce. This is combined with layers of more sound explorations and harmonies, produced by manipulated sounds (from the cello mostly) and tiny bits of electronica, by George Korein, and with additional touches on recorder,… Helena also adds several sections of harmony explorations in different tonal harmonies on amplified guitar. The music is free music searching its way, not in an organic way, as leaving it to evolve itself its own way, but more consciously stirring, guided by inner pulses, like a swollen lava finding its way, like moles in the ground, or even better described, as with movements like rhythmic ‘sound animals’, or consciously finding a way in and out whatever comes across…and this from the bass earth ground sounds, to more spatial cricks and noises. On track 10 for instance, the manipulated high notes of stringed vibrations sound like an orchestra on its own/ “Mar Amarga” is the only section with vocals, with semi-eastern sounds on the guitar, and with a soprano voice improvisation on top, just slightly exploring the same edge of experimenting with tonal variations, but also based in a very spontaneously inspired way on an idea of eastern music. Last track concludes with overloads of changed time schedules in the sound manipulations’ basics. A rewarding album. Limited to 500 copies.
