Veröffentlicht
Dec 26, 2018Veröffentlicht
November 2018
- Intimate saxophone-led ambient inspired by degenerative illness.
- The Canadian saxophonist Joseph Shabason, best known for his work with indie rock bands The War On Drugs and Destroyer, is a relative newcomer in the world of ambient music. His first solo release was 2017's Aytche, an atmospheric ambient jazz LP whose spacious and freeform nature stood in contrast to traditional saxophone improvisation. As he bent notes out of key and started and stopped mid-phrase, Shabason defied the reed player's music school handbook. Speaking on his approach to ambient in a 2017 interview with FACT, Shabason said, "It allows you the freedom to not obsess and get precious about stuff. It has the feeling of being disposable and something you can zero in on."
With Anne, Shabason has refined the approach taken on Aytche, capturing a deeply personal intergenerational narrative. The LP is named after Shabason's mother, and centers around a series of conversations about her ongoing battle with Parkinson's disease. These recorded interviews form the backbone of the record, and provide a kind of emotional anchor in spoken-word. Over pulsing synth patterns or sparse ambient fuzz, Anne speaks about insecurity, regret and hopes for the future. These personal moments speak to universal experiences, and lend the music a therapeutic quality.
On "Deep Dark Divide," Shabason's mother says: "I think I can kick the habit of wanting to be perfect. So that's what I have to do." It's a moment that speaks to more than just emotional insecurity. On each of Anne's nine songs, Shabason approaches sonic perfection before deliberately avoiding it. "Fred And Lil," with its twinkling interplay of sax and keyboard, is gorgeous in its own right. But the track comes alive in the muffled vocal samples and hints of distortion that creep in over time.
"Toh Koh" replaces all instrumentation with a few repeating vocalizations, the most prevalent of which are "toh" and "koh." The syllables are piled on top of each other in ways that aren't always neat or rhythmically satisfying. It's in moments like these that the album shines. Taking inspiration from our deep-rooted human imperfections, Anne is at once intimate and universal, honest and hopeful.
Tracklist01. I Thought That I Could Get Away With It
02. Deep Dark Divide
03. Dangerous Chemicals
04. Donna Lee
05. Forest Run
06. Fred And Lil
07. Toh Koh
08. November feat. Gigi Masin
09. Treat It Like A Wine Bar