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MOGARD, ABUL & RAFAEL ANTON IRISARRI - Impossibly Distant, Impossibly Close

Format: LP Label & Cat.Number: BLACK KNOLL EDITIONS - BKE 018 Release Year: 2024 Note: second release on IRISARRI's own label, two side-long epic tracks based on their live performance in Madrid 2023... - COLOUR vinyl lim. 250 (two different colours, please ask) => "If you believe in the transcendent nature and spiritual power of music, with a marriage of the divine and the human, you will be seduced by this album...for fans of Alessandro Cortini, Tape Loop Orchestra, and TROUM (at their most soothing moments). Essential." [IGLOO mag] Price (incl. 19% VAT): €30.50 More Info Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri's partnership unfolded serendipitously at the sold-out opening of the SoundSet Series at Madrid's Condeduque cultural center in 2023 -- a program that featured performances by legends such as Autechre and younger artists like Caterina Barbieri and KMRU. The duo's encore that evening, recorded for Spain's Radio 3, resonated deeply with the audience, igniting a creative spark that propelled them to work remotely in their respective studios. At the heart of their effort lies a delicate balance of restraint and innovation, evident in the live concert track "Waking Up Dizzy on a Bastion." This piece, inspired by their musical sensibilities, serves as a testament to their shared vision and mutual respect. Utilizing a familiar parallel chord progression, the track builds from a simple melodic motif played live on synths that transforms into a call-and-response interplay between Mogard's synth lines and Irisarri's bowed guitar loops, creating a dialogue-like interaction between the musicians. Building upon the energy of that live performance, Mogard and Irisarri crafted "Place of Forever," a companion piece that combines Mogard's Farfisa organ and modular synthesizers with Irisarri's signature guitar tones and looping techniques at his Black Knoll studio in New York. Starting with a somber and minimal tone, the track gradually evolves, unfurling layers of deep bass tonalities draped in blissful gauze as it progresses during its 17-plus minute duration. The resulting album exudes a profound sense of alchemy, effortlessly weaving intricate soundscapes that feel simultaneously faraway and intimate. The cover artwork, by Marja de Sanctis, depicts a vase sculpture made of unfired clay. Created and photographed by herself, it reflects lights and shadows of fragility. Daniel Castrejón's design responds to the image transforming the shape of the vase into lines and empty spaces. Through these joint pieces, Mogard and Irisarri have created a work that encapsulates the dichotomy inherent in its title: Impossibly Distant, Impossibly Close. ############## https://www.cyclicdefrost.com/2024/04/abul-mogard-rafael-anton-irisarri-impossibly-distant-impossibly-close-black-knoll-editions/ "It was only a matter of time for Rafael Anton Irisarri to start a label. With a remarkable solo trajectory, enriched by his mastering duties for all sorts of projects and constant collaborations with other artists, either live or in the studio, he stands as a distinguished and particular voice in contemporary electronic music. The new label, Black Knoll Editions, had its first reference back in November with a remaster and vinyl debut of Irisarri’s Midnight Colours, originally released on cassette in 2018. And this month sees their second feature with a joint effort with Abul Mogard, the Italian musician -also a distinctive voice in immersive electronic music- with whom Irisarri performed live for the first time at the beginning of last year. Impossibly distant, impossibly close consists of two compositions with enough time to stretch into the deepness of both artists’ sound explorations, reaching moments of reflection and splendorous beauty. ‘Waking Up Dizzy On A Bastion’ is a live recording during their presentation at the SoundSet Series in Madrid’s Condeduque cultural center in 2023. It was an encore after they both played solo. We can only imagine how it must have felt live, given that both artists seem to have a clear understanding of utilising the physical qualities of sound. It is one thing to daydream with a bowed guitar being looped over ethereal hums through headphones, but to be present at a collective deep listening experience of such a sound dialogue must feel healing. Luminous motifs emanate in the middle of the composition, while nostalgic synths layer up, and morph in tone for evocative melodies to rise. An evolving drone atmosphere creates a sonic massage, grows in intensity, then vanishes in an echo. ‘Place Of Forever’ is spatial at the beginning and immersive at the end. First, Mogard’s Farfisa organ keys float around, panned in a virtuous, elegant way. The track is long enough to indulge, 5 minutes in and we feel how evolving this dynamic can be, right before Irisarri’s signature looped bass treatment starts to merge, growing in intensity and texture, expanding. It feels like focusing on a wave while looking at the sea, but then zooming out to drown in its sublime dimension, ever changing. There’s something cathartic in the air, the build up takes us somewhere else, while the ocean fights against its mandate to fade away." [Cyclic Defrost] "Ethereal beauty with an almost immaculate dimension. Impossibly Distant, Impossibly Close is a brooding and at the same time priceless contemplative effort for entrancing noises, velveting drones and revered guitar phrasings. Two legendary and innovative sound artists Rafael Anton Irisarri and Abul Mogard join force to produce one remarkable micro-noise ambient release. This album is published by Black Knoll (owned by R.A.Irisarri) and crafted in vinyl format. Rafael Anton Irisarri is one of the most reliable and notorious figures of modern days ambient electronica with an incredible ability to blend textures and sinuous motifs to express a sense of emotional grandeur and heartfelt dramaturgy. His albums have notably been signed on Room40, Umor Rex, and others. His work counts a handful of collaborations with artists of various musical horizons and stylistic paths. Abul Mogard is another distinguished sound artist producing soundscapes of deep introspective reflection and journeying to the confines. His usual sound signature mixes abrasive, shifting, and mutating drone sequences with fractured consonant melodies, mostly with sorrowful and eerie inclinations to reach a state of sensory communion. His numerous albums can be found on Ecstatic Records and also his sumptuous collaborative release with KMRU for VAKNAAR. If the two lengthy pieces start in a slowly and subtly moving ambient register, both carry on an emotional crescendo based on multilayered pads with a cascade of drone guitar vibes filled with dreary and tearful, if not elegiac, moments. Those pieces end up in one overwhelming and intoxicating ethereal beauty with an almost immaculate dimension, embracing all inner ghosts and soul upwarding. If you believe in the transcendent nature and spiritual power of music, with a marriage of the divine and the human, you will be seduced by this album. Impossibly Distant, Impossibly Close is a brooding and at the same time priceless contemplative effort for entrancing noises, velveting drones and revered guitar phrasings. If you like slowly and elegant evolving minimal ambient then intense, massive, and soul crushing guitar noise litanies, this album is for you. A strong and cohesive new release which can easily compete for best album of the year. Warmly recommended for fans of those two artists but also Alessandro Cortini, Tape Loop Orchestra, and TROUM (at their most soothing moments). Essential." [Philippe Blache, IGLOO Magazine]