Vision Mantra
Neuma, 2025
9/10
This sophomore album from the violinist and electronics wizard Adrianne Munden-Dixon treats us to 4 new commissioned solo pieces and 2 calmer chamber selections that are never short on rawness.
Marcos Balter’s “Vision Mantra” opens with Carrie Frey’s distinct viola and Julia Henderson’s striking cello interacting with a sonic appeal that radiates amid Munden-Dixon’s violin, and “For Adrianne”, by Martin Gendelman, follows with the atypical violin gestures that are both intimate and playful in an artistic fashion.
In the middle, Gemma Peacocke’s “In A Snowstorm Of Moths” offers an emotive and stirring bout of meticulous violin, while “Disentangling” drones via a cinematic mood that’s mesmerizing thanks to Kimia Koochakzadeh-Yazdi’s vision.
Residing close to the end, John Thompson’s “Changing Light” turns minimalism into a refined science with some tinkering sounds and occasional buzzing, and Inti Figgis-Vizueta’s “Shadow In The Garden” exits with detailed attention to tonality thanks to the gripping violin, as more animated gestures arrive late.
A genre defying experience that pairs violin with electronics in an unconventional platform, the timbre, texture and color present is immediately engaging.
Travels well with: Peter Van Zandt Lane- Axils; Thomas Ciufo- The Rising Moon