Icefield
Ravello, 2022
9/10
The longtime composer Matthew Burtner creates a very diverse listen here that examines the space between environment and controlled sound by meshing specialized field recordings of glaciers and Arctic storms, electroacoustics, and traditional instruments.
“You Sink Into The Singing Snow” starts the listen with much atmosphere, as I-Jen Fang’s percussion and Glen Whitehead’s trumpet help make for a mysterious climate that welcomes Lisa Edwards-Burrs’ stunning voice, and “Icefield” follows with just Burtner’s saxophone and snow making for an ominous, cinematic landscape.
Elsewhere, “Sonification Of An Arctic Lagoon” showcases Ken Dunton, Craig Connolly, Christina Bonsell, and Nathan McTigue’s science for an otherworldly exploration, while “We Are As One Plane” emits Kevin Davis’ cello and Kelly Sulick’s flute in a stirring, poetic climate.
“Oil Drum” and “Iceprints” exit the listen, where the former is just Colin Malloy’s percussion in a very bare but impactful display, and the latter spotlights Chrysi Nanou’s piano in an intimate and very cautious 20+ minutes.
A record where each track is quite different from each other, Burtner illuminates the chill of the air, the blinding snow, and the mesmerizing sight of glacial fields breaking apart and bringing sea levels higher and higher across this fascinating journey.
Travels well with: Wesley Ferreira- Into The Green; The Music Of Jeffrey Jacob- Sequoias