What do Derek Bailey, Alice Coltrane, Warren Ellis, and Mary Halvorson, have in common? They’ve all searched beyond traditional sound making techniques and tested the outer timbral capabilities of their instruments. John Cage may be the obvious touchstone when it comes to non-conventional piano playing, but every player plots their own course, and Marta Warelis, conducts some particularly singular experiments.
The Polish born, Netherlands based performer, is an avid collaborator, however, this is Warelis’ first solo release. As with many debuts, years of wisdom are poured in, and yet, Warelis plays with a keen ear for instant composing. Posing questions about creation and destruction, these searching vignettes are coaxed from the instrument with clusters of forthright hammered notes for trip on a light toe, and bowing of the piano’s strings for the aptly named invisible threads.
Simultaneously unsettling and engrossing, the journey can seem brief, with ashes to the sea acting as the final pirouette when the notes disappear into the ether.
