Label: Room40

水に関連する互いのフィールドレコーディングを組み合わせた秀逸なコラボ作!!2022年に他界した重鎮サウンドアーティストPhilip Jeckと共演、バンドIsisで活動するボーカル&ギタリストAaron Turnerの妻であり、音楽家以外にも写真家/グラフィックアーティストとして活動するFaith Coloccia。彼女の長年の友人であり、ポートランドにて89年からアクティブに活動をしている当店激推しの大ベテランDaniel Mencheとの共同録音を制作。フェリーの下を流れる水、防波堤から流れ落ちる水、凍った池の水、水車を回す水、雷雨の雨、冬のプールで泳ぐ音といった様々な状態の水の音をベースに、ほぼ持続音化したFaith Colocciaのピアノ曲を組み合わせたハイファイとローファイの間にある不思議な録音。徐々に厚みを増していく物語性のある展開も良い。エンボス加工スリーブ、インサートカード付き。



Matte laminate, embossed and monochrome printed sleeve with insert card

The field recordings on this album contain the common theme of water in different states: snow, ice, hail, streams, creeks, in the Puget Sound passing under a ferry boat, pouring from a leaking sea wall, in frozen ponds, as it turns a water wheel, rain in thunder storms, in a pool during winter swimming. These were recorded between 2017-2024. They were usually made quickly while out with my son, and later edited to preserve the sounds of our voices while obscuring the specific content of what was said. In contrast, when Daniel records, he has a predetermined place in mind, and sets off on whole day adventures to document through both photography and audio. Working together melds his high fidelity, pre-meditated recordings with my spur-of-the-moment low-fi recordings.

Daniel and I first met in 2011. We became friends through a shared interest in photography, music, hiking, and in subverting expectations and templates. Since then, we have collaborated on numerous visual and musical projects. When we decided to work together on Smelter, I gave him five recordings of my piano compositions which he treated and added his own elements to - turning them into long drone formations. These were then combined with the various water based field recordings we’d made individually.

Making records this way creates an aural archive of place/time and environment - in the same way a film photograph holds onto a vision in time: the single moment when light is suspended in microscopic halide crystals which can then be recreated and reinterpreted: a form of time travel, where the past is both fixed and also accessible in the present. Daniel is a great story teller. Every album he’s made holds a narrative, and I have been lucky enough to hear many backstories! With “ Smelter” perhaps we have created a time capsule, an index in which to place our combined story telling for listeners to share. -Faith Coloccia

When I was young kid my favourite book in the world was the Dictionary. Hey, It’s the book of life from A-Z! I worshiped the Dictionary like the holiest of books. One Sunday morning I was being bored out of my mind at church. The pastor gave a sermon and preached that “There is no definition in the dictionary for the word “Faith” and that is why it’s so special”. As soon as I got home I cracked open my holy dictionary and searched for “Faith”. Found the word in there but really not much of a definition offered. That mystery of the word “faith" stuck with me all my life and has been a great influence. I’m always searching for the impossible to define things in life. Or even try to create the undefinable! In which I strive for with my own music. What the HELL does this childhood story have anything to do with this collaboration album with Faith Coloccia???? Maybe nothing or maybe EVERYTHING! But this silly childhood church story came to mind when asked to write about our album. This collaboration recording with Faith Coloccia took many years and the longer it took for Faith Coloccia to finish it the better and stronger and even stranger the music became. Whenever Faith would apologise to me for the delay I would respond: “Faith…… I got faith in ya!” And so here we are with a collaboration album that is so special to Faith and myself that I do believe this music cannot be defined or captured by words. And that’s why it’s so special. - Daniel Menche