Caterina Barbieri - Fantas Variations (exp. / modern composition / electronic)

[purlieu]

Out today on Editions Mego (vinyl not shipping until the end of the month, such is the way these days)

Fantas is the epic opening track on Caterina Barbieri's acclaimed 2019 release Ecstatic Computation. The original Fantas laid out a magical path of patterns leading the listener on a journey into the sound itself. Fantas Variations maps out eight new potentials sprung from this initial path as constructed by a diverse mix of artists lending to a wide spectrum of new works extrapolated from the original work. For this project Barbieri invited friends and long time collaborators from a variety of musical backgrounds to create a more sustainable and inclusive landscape in terms of stylistic, geographical, gender and generational balance.  The results are a diverse array of approaches and instrumentation which blur the boundaries between the acoustic and electronic.

I've never been as taken with Barbieri's work as a lot of people, but the re-interpretations here are wonderful, ranging from the a capella choral opener to versions for sax and voice, organ, a really stunning Electric Counterpoint-esque guitar arrangement by Walter Zanetti, then moving onto one with layers of electronic percussion, a gabber version and an arrangement that could be from a mid '90s Pete Namlook album.
Whole thing is streamable and purchasable from the Mego Bandcamp, really worth a listen.

[Tokyo van Ramming]

Listening, thanks. That sleeve is a nightmare and I love it.

[buttgammon]

Can't wait to listen to this - her last album is a particular favourite of mine.

[jobotic]

Wow, 1, 3 6 and 8 are fantastic (the Kali Malone one predictably so)

Thanks for this. Spent some time having a listen to her other stuff tonight, really impressed.

[buttgammon]

This is stunning. With the Pharoah Sanders and Floating Points album, I already thought we had an album of the year candidate, but this one is right up there too on first listen.