Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Teodora Stepančić - O A | F G [Another Timbre - 2025]

O A | F G  takes in two very sparse/ spaced-out examples of modern ensemble work, from Belgrade-born, now New York City based composer Teodora Stepančić. These are works that need both patience( from the listener and players alike) and a good sense of memory, so very much a release that will take both time and effort to fully appreciate.

The players included here are- Jordan Dykstra- viola, Laura Cetilia-cello, Douglas Farrand- trumpet,  Luke Martin- electric guitar J.P.A. Falzone- Fender Rhodes & Casiotone MT45, and Teodora Stepančić, piano & Casiotone MT68

Each of the tracks runs at around the twenty-five to twenty-six minute mark. And each moves between low-profile drones, lonesome trumpetings, stark string bays. Onto blocks of keyboard work and simmering to soured ambience.

In the compositions' make-up, you can hear elements of modern composition, sparse modern classical gesturing, low-key electronica, stark jazz, and swooning to lightly soured ambience.

I’ll have to admit, on my first play through of this album, I truly thought there was an issue with my stereo as the gaps/ spaces between musical events were often large. And even when I figured out that the spacing was intentional/not due to my equipment failure, I was both puzzled/ a little frustrated.  But over several more plays, and letting my mind slow to the tracks unfold, it started to click a lot better, revealing some truly haunting, poignant, effectively jarring, and rewarding moments.

The album cover features a rather abstract picture of light/ or sun shimmering on water, and really this is most fitting/ apt- as often that’s what the compositions feel like here, glinting/ shifting light in sonic form

So, in finishing, O A | F G   is certainly one of the more mysterious/intriguing releases to appear from Another Timber. I can’t say it’ll be for everyone, but if you're willing to invest the time/ effort here, then I think you'll find something quite original/ distinctive.

Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5Rating: 3 out of 5

Roger Batty
Latest Reviews

Teodora Stepančić - O A | F G
O A | F G  takes in two very sparse/ spaced-out examples of modern ensemble work, from Belgrade-born, now New York City based composer Teodora Stepanči...
270625   Murder Rock - Murder Rock( Bl...
270625   The Black Torment - The Blac...
250625   Girls Without Shame - Girls W...
250625   Xiphos - The Age Of Alexander
250625   Timothy Fairless - Keep Tal...
240625   CORR//PT│0N_UN1T - S7ATU5_...
240625   Golem - Golem( Blu Ray)
230625   Cryptopsy - An Insatiable Vi...
200625   Dick Dynamite: 1944 - Dick D...
200625   Various Artists - Electric Ju...
Latest Articles

Matthew Holmes - Of razor-sharp t...
It’s fair to say the Sharksploitation genre is often tried, tested, and to be honest, tired. Fear Below is a 2025 Australian film that tries to do some...
180625   Matthew Holmes - Of razor-sha...
280525   The Residents - Visits From T...
090525   Ennaytch - Of walls, abused ...
150425   Dead, Dead Swans interview - ...
110325   Sebastian Tomb - Walls of unb...
040225   Alien Sex Fiend - Possessed B...
231224   Best Of 2024 - Music, Sound &...
191224   Splintered - Somewhere Betwee...
031224   Shane Ryan-Reid - Coerced and...
221024   Whore’s Breath - life’s h...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2025. Twenty four years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom