Image: Sharon Casey Ledwidge
For some artists the period of extended lockdown has afforded them the chance to focus on important projects but also provided a moment to breathe and to break unrelenting habits. Chris Ledwidge has grabbed these moments of clarity to create a spectacular body of work in the ‘Seasons EP’.
The third EP in the collection, ‘Summer | Electronics’ will be available to stream and download on August 13th and it follows two acclaimed EP’s, ‘Winter | Piano and Strings’ and ‘Spring | Drones, Loops & Noise’, released earlier this year. The material reflects upon the mood of suspension and contemplation which has lingered for so many of us over the course of the past year.
On the latest collection Ledwidge burrows into a territory of tentative freedom, ‘Summer | Electronics’ occupies some of the same sonic sphere as his first two releases but includes stuttering drum machines and glacial layers of synthetics that one could expect from producers such as Boards Of Canada or Aphex Twin. It’s on this release that Ledwidge displays as much of a fondness for an electronic producer like Nicholas Jaar as he does for a contemporary composer in the mould of Nicholas Brittell.
All four parts of the ‘Seasons EP’ are fully instrumental. Where his first release ‘Winter | Piano and Strings’ illustrated a sparse melancholic terrain of longing, hope as well anger and loss – the subsequent ‘Spring | Drones, Loops & Noise’, further explored another area of his composition style. An awakening into the new season of growth through an exploration of experimental abstract sounds and textures which follows the meditative pause of Winter. This time Piano and strings are joined by droning electronics and electric guitar which he plays with a cello bow to create dense, textured and in places haunting sounds. Both releases attracted strong acclaim with features on national radio on the prestigious Blue Of The Night on RTE Lyric FM.
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