Alex Zethson — Residy

Residy is a two-track album that focuses on organic, hovering and at points graceful drone matter. This is seemingly the second release from the Swedish-born composer/ pianist/keyboardist Alex Zethson- whom has worked with the likes of Angles 9, Goran Kajfeš Tropiques, Sven Wunder, Mariam the Believer, Fire! Orchestra, VÖ, Yokada. 

The CD release comes presented in a rather starkly monochrome mini gate sleeve- this features on its outside a picture of what looks like a grey prison wall. Inside we get a double-page write-up by Zethson, talking about the album & we find out JS Bach’s "Goldberg variation no. 21" was a key influence on the album- though it bares little or no resemblance to that work, as it was largely pulled out into hovering simmers, to grand ambient swells.

Each track is simply titled Residy one and two. "Part one" runs at twenty-one minutes- it opens with a low-end key clunk and brief reverb. then quickly shifts into swirling jangling. As it progresses we have blended moments of ringing jangle and sombre hover, which are broken by a few weaving note strikes, and the very deep clunks- which are counterbalanced by more warmer sonic waters. The track seemingly expands on and – with the drone ebbing on & on

“Residy Two” comes in at just shy of the fifteen-minute mark. It opens with a selection of fairly goldenly harmonic piano key climbs. But soon we get struck in a set and sustained hover- this at first feels rather slicing/ discordant in its intent, but as we move along we get a graceful drone glide coming into play- this rather reminded me of the formal piano sourced drone elegance of some of the Stars Of The lid work, though there is certainly more pressing angularity present here.

There is no doubt Residy is a one-off take on JS Bach work- though I’d take that relation out of the album's sound/ feel- as there is little of Bach's grace or flow here, well I guess maybe a smidge it’s just buried. To find out more drop in here