Soundtracks For Winter Departures is a new release on English label TXT Recordings, from Italian experimental musicians Sergio Calzoni and Andrea Bellucci.
It begins ominously, in the low hum of ‘The Arrival’, then slides into ‘Burian’, a subtle building up of tension. ‘A Prayer for the Departed’ continues the theme, and it’s beginning to sound as though this Soundtrack is one for consoling the listener on grey, misty winter days.
But that’s clearly too quick a judgement. ‘In Every Place’ begins to gently throw some warmth into proceedings, adding gentle, delicate synth sounds to the mix. Perhaps this is not so much intended to support the listener through the winter months as to hint at moving through cold, dull days towards somewhere better. There is – slightly perversely – a warmth about this album which coddles the senses.
Standout track ‘Returning after leaving’ is a case in point. Heavy, blanketing layered string sounds are washed by a wave of soft static, running just ahead of a gradually introduced steady pulse and droplets of tinkling ice (and is that a tiny fragment of broken sax I hear in the background?). This is cold and heat combined, like an Icelandic hot spring on a spring morning.
Later, ‘Lux Ephemeral’ begins in darkness, with heavy clouds of sound, but ends up soaring and leads into the final three tracks, each lighter than the last, and concluding with a sweet piano riff on ‘Springtime Returns’.
If you only listen to one track, listen to this:
Available on cd and download from
https://txtrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/soundtracks-for-winter-departures
