Bondi, Martel, Schiller & Davies — Awirë

Awirë is an example fleeting ‘n’ darting improv- that’s somewhere between waving-to-sour-drone matter & sprightly modern composition- with flavors of both folk and playful modern classical music about it.

This release appears on the always worthy Sheffield based modern composition/ modern classic/ improv label Another Timbre- and the CD appears in labels house style white gatefold sleeve. For this releases front cover picture we have a decidedly moody picture of what looks like a field of corn, set against a blacked sky.
 
The single thirty-minute track here was taken from a live recording made in October of last year at London’s Café Oto. With the players been Cyril Bondi- Shruti box, Pitch Pipes, Harmonica. Pierre-Yves Martel, viola da gamba, pitch pipes, harmonica. Christoph Schiller, harpsichord & preparations, Angharad Davies, violin.
 
The track is very much a blend of composed and improvised- one of the group had a tin that contained several small pieces of paper with musical notes on them. Some of the pieces of paper feature just a single note. Before the collective started to play, they laid out some of the pieces of paper in a sequence which they all agree on. Each piece of paper represents up to, say, five minutes, during which the musicians only play the pitches on that piece of paper. After about five minutes they each move on to the next pitch or group of pitches, and stay with those for another five minutes and so on. So, as a result, there is both a playful/free vibe, as well as some form of structure/ shape present here.
 
The track, as you’d expect with the above set-up, rather uncurls, shifts and grows as it goes on moving from simmer and wishful drones, that are edged with darts & flits of other instrumentation. Onto more stripped and pared-back moments where one or two players are starting there next sequence. So, the whole thing feels both unpredictable-yet focused- it’s just the focus is often in shift/ movement. Each player nicely balances between warming buzzing and humming playing, and more grainy and textured moments.
 
 
Much like the release cover picture, this is a release you’ve got to let your self drift off into, and take what happens/ unfolds as it is. Even after playing the track numerous times, I’m still surprised by the turns/ shifts occurring here- and the players really seem to slow down and stretch time, in a good way- meaning when the release finishes you feel you’ve been with it for twice it’s half-an-hour playtime.