Folded Landscapes
Mercury KX, 2023
9/10
The innovative Scottish composer and producer Erland Cooper pens a listen with themes of climate, change, temperature, and time, and it includes the poet Laureate Simon Armitage, the Scottish Ensemble and even Greta Thunberg and Dara McAnulty.
“Movement 1” begins the listen with atmospheric noises that lead into the warm, reflective strings that are graceful and thought provoking, and “Movement 2” follows with a stirring presence of soft string manipulation that carries a cinematic quality.
“Movement 3” and “Movement 4” land in the middle, where the former opens playfully before segueing into intimate and mysterious areas, and the latter carries a gorgeous emotive quality of gentle instrumentation and strong attention to mood that welcomes talking.
The final tracks, “Movement 6” and “Movement 7”, are among the best, where the former is a more upbeat affair as the strings dance around each other charmingly, and the last track carries a soothing, droning aspect of intrigue.
This is Cooper’s 4th album, and he urges us to come together and take action against the climate crisis. His vision is one of a mature, captivating demeanor, and the subject matter should really make this required listening during these pivotal times for our planet.
Travels well with: Steve Reich- The String Quartets; Hildur Guðnadóttir- Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture Tár