Absence makes the heart grow fonder may have become a hackneyed phrase over the years, but it acknowledges a poignant truth that is at the heart of a remote collaboration between sound artist & composer Başak Günak, aka Ah! Kosmos, and pianist/composer Büşra Kayıkçı. Distance magnifies the people and things you miss most is the more cogent phrasing used in the liner notes of their new album Bluets, a collection of melancholic soundscapes and bittersweet melodies rooted in the memories of comforting places held dear but where they are unable to be present.
Since distance magnifies the people and things you miss most, the album ‘Bluets’ became a multifaceted experience and a recollection of memories that rescue the heart when everything is torn to pieces.
At the core of the album are field recordings meaningful to each artist – Kayıkçı brings the sounds of a bustling Istanbul and her father’s machinery atelier while Günak, on the other hand, contributes recordings of melting glaciers & waterfalls taken in Vatnajökull, Iceland. A lush tapestry of music is woven around these juxtaposed resonances. An architect and painter as well as a musician, Kayıkçı’s piano lines are elegant melodic structures that conceal virtuosity in the illusion of their simplicity. Günak, a potent electronic sound artist and composer for theater & contemporary dance, brings rich layers of synthesizers, bass guitar, beats, and voice. Warm splashes of color are added by guest musicians including Shabnam Parvaresh (bass clarinet), Judith Hamman (cello), and Maysun (percussion). In this shared reflection on the familiar, they create something quite beautiful and altogether new to inhabit and share with their audience.
Bluets is available digitally and on cassette from FUU Records. the album was mastered by Mark Dobson at CODA Mastering and features original artwork by Büşra Kayıkçı.
Links: Bandcamp (digital/cassette) | Streaming | Ah! Kosmos | Büşra Kayıkçı
Stationary Travels 