The Illusion Of Silence: The White Summer
[TLM014]
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12 fragile instrumental compositions
inspired by Nordic mythology, wintertime and loss. ........................... Limited edition of 100 CDs in hand-made & numbered paper gatefolds +/or Digital Album (FLAC recommended). 12 tracks, 49'15". Photography by Luca Bonandini. Artwork design by moody alien. Packaging design by Pat Kiout Productions. ........................................ Luca Bonandini - composition, piano, melodica, glockenspiel, recorder, bells, keyboards, sounds, bowed psaltery, flute, m’bira, tiny music machines, singing glasses, santoor Anna Dushkina - viola, voice Recorded at Xilema (Torino) & Wirr sound bunker (Königsberg). Mixed and mastered by Jhonnie. ........................................ Thank you's to: Anna Dushkina, Tatiana Korotkova, Alex Popov, Jhonnie, Igor & Ketti. ........................................ Released December 21, 2017. ℗ & © Thirsty Leaves Music |
REVIEWS.
"With The Illusion Of Silence, Luca Bonandini has always turned his attention to off the beaten path territory. To a gloomy East with the previous 'Black Rainbow' (2016), which stood between neo-folk and ethereal dark currents, and now to a dazzling Nordic quiet with the composite chamber sequence of 'The White Summer'.
So the paradigm changes in the twelve instrumental compositions that make up this work, centered on Bonandini's multi-instrumentalist skills (piano, keyboards, psaltery, flute, glockenspiel and more) which, flanked by Anna Dushkina's viola and vocals, create melancholic enchantments of an arcane magic."
Raffaello Russo for Music Won't Save You (in italian)
. . .
"There is a moment, at this time of year, when you know snow is approaching. The sky darkens, the air dampens, then one or two flakes circle slowly to the ground. This is what The White Summer sounds like. From Turin, Italy, Luca Bonandini’s The Illusion Of Silence released its second album on Dec. 21, appropriately enough. Billed as “12 fragile instrumental compositions inspired by Nordic mythology, wintertime and loss,” it is an album of breathtaking gentleness.
[...] There are ambient elements among the dozen pieces. The album’s title track is a lovely example. But it is a mistake to describe The White Summer as an ambient work with classical touches. It is the reverse. Bonandini’s piano is the primary attraction, paired beautifully with Dushkina’s viola. “Lights from a northern town” and “The dream of the glass garden” are both splendid. Dushkina’s vocals on the latter are Meredith Monk-like in their imaginativeness.
[...] We could do with a great deal more bird song – paired with Bonandini’s tiny music machines – at this time of year."
Kevin Press for Badd Press
. . .
"Evanescent fairy tales that come from the cold crystalline of the extreme north. Luca Bonandini continues to turn his gaze towards increasingly algid territories, turning the coordinates of The Illusion Of Silence towards ever more rarefied and essential plots.
There are twelve sinuous sketches that resonate like fragile dances of luminous acoustical sounds to compose this narrative track which, while preserving its introspective tone, differs from the folk atmosphere veiled by the persistent gloom of the previous "Black Rainbow" and shapes an ethereal and solitary journey that welcomes the sole contribution of the viola by Anna Dushkina, who is also entrusted with the appearance of the rare and faint vocal traces that emerge as a further harmonic trail between the instrumental interlaces.
It is a flow that sounds placidly muffled, cloaked in a thick layer of soft snow, whether it glides like a melancholic sequence of delicate resonances ("Memories of the wind", "A mirror, an ocean", "Lights from a northern town") or it becomes a vaguely ghostly dilated persistence ("Frost", "The white summer").
A quiet journey through enchanting glimpses of reverberant charm."
So What (in italian)
. . .
"With The Illusion Of Silence, Luca Bonandini has always turned his attention to off the beaten path territory. To a gloomy East with the previous 'Black Rainbow' (2016), which stood between neo-folk and ethereal dark currents, and now to a dazzling Nordic quiet with the composite chamber sequence of 'The White Summer'.
So the paradigm changes in the twelve instrumental compositions that make up this work, centered on Bonandini's multi-instrumentalist skills (piano, keyboards, psaltery, flute, glockenspiel and more) which, flanked by Anna Dushkina's viola and vocals, create melancholic enchantments of an arcane magic."
Raffaello Russo for Music Won't Save You (in italian)
. . .
"There is a moment, at this time of year, when you know snow is approaching. The sky darkens, the air dampens, then one or two flakes circle slowly to the ground. This is what The White Summer sounds like. From Turin, Italy, Luca Bonandini’s The Illusion Of Silence released its second album on Dec. 21, appropriately enough. Billed as “12 fragile instrumental compositions inspired by Nordic mythology, wintertime and loss,” it is an album of breathtaking gentleness.
[...] There are ambient elements among the dozen pieces. The album’s title track is a lovely example. But it is a mistake to describe The White Summer as an ambient work with classical touches. It is the reverse. Bonandini’s piano is the primary attraction, paired beautifully with Dushkina’s viola. “Lights from a northern town” and “The dream of the glass garden” are both splendid. Dushkina’s vocals on the latter are Meredith Monk-like in their imaginativeness.
[...] We could do with a great deal more bird song – paired with Bonandini’s tiny music machines – at this time of year."
Kevin Press for Badd Press
. . .
"Evanescent fairy tales that come from the cold crystalline of the extreme north. Luca Bonandini continues to turn his gaze towards increasingly algid territories, turning the coordinates of The Illusion Of Silence towards ever more rarefied and essential plots.
There are twelve sinuous sketches that resonate like fragile dances of luminous acoustical sounds to compose this narrative track which, while preserving its introspective tone, differs from the folk atmosphere veiled by the persistent gloom of the previous "Black Rainbow" and shapes an ethereal and solitary journey that welcomes the sole contribution of the viola by Anna Dushkina, who is also entrusted with the appearance of the rare and faint vocal traces that emerge as a further harmonic trail between the instrumental interlaces.
It is a flow that sounds placidly muffled, cloaked in a thick layer of soft snow, whether it glides like a melancholic sequence of delicate resonances ("Memories of the wind", "A mirror, an ocean", "Lights from a northern town") or it becomes a vaguely ghostly dilated persistence ("Frost", "The white summer").
A quiet journey through enchanting glimpses of reverberant charm."
So What (in italian)
. . .