Departure
Departure (album) is the third full-length studio album by Australian-Taiwanese pianist Belle Chen. Departure is an alternative classical album that draws inspiration from traditional sounds and music from around the world, the timbres of which are readapted on an acoustic piano through extended technique and preparing the piano. The majority of the works on the album are original works written by Chen, and are scored for piano, prepared piano, toy piano, kalimba, synth, melodica, and sound design.
The album was recorded at Masterchord Studio (London) in 2018. Departure is released on 1st February 2019 under Eito Music and distributed through State51. Departure was recorded and mixed by Dougal Lott, and mastered by Dave Darlington.
| Departure | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 📅 Released | 1st February 2019 | |||
| 🎙️ Recorded | 2018 | |||
| Studio | Masterchord Studio | |||
| ⏳ Length | 39:31 | |||
| 🏷️ Label | Eito Music | |||
| 🤑 Producer | Belle Chen | |||
| Belle Chen chronology | ||||
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Buy this album Departure (Belle Chen album) or listen to it on amazon
Background[edit]
In November 2017, Chen began studying into the works of various electronic producers - most notably Aphex Twin, Bonobo, and Hauschka - originally to seek inspiration for a preadaptation of Chopin's 24 Preludes for Piano.
The original Chopin project was soon put on hold when Chen realised she wanted to create an album of original works and turned her attention to studying the traditional music of South-East Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In particular, Chen took specific interest in the music of Indonesian Gamelan, Chinese traditional court music, Zimbabwean Shona music, and various dance rhythms of Latin America[1].
Unlike her previous album Mademoiselle, Chen took over 6 months in writing the blueprints of Departure. During this time, to better understand the potentials of prepared piano, extended techniques, and recording techniques, Chen also studied the past works of early 20th-century composers including John Cage and George Crumb, and contemporary composer-producers such as Aphex Twin, Hauschka, and Nils Frahm.
In Departure, Chen utilised materials such as metal screws, blue tack, percussion mallets, dulcimer hammers, sticks, horsehair, tin foil, tin can, and hands to evoke sounds reminiscent of Indonesian Gamelan, guqin, yangqin, güiro, cajón, metallophone, hang drum, flint and steel, frog, timbale, guitar, fretless bass, gongs, bells, smouldering fire, crawling insects, passing train, bongo, and conga on the piano[2][3].
The album was recorded at Masterchord Studio (London), with most of prepared piano material recorded on Chen's Yamaha B2 piano. Departure was engineered by Dougal Lott.
Critical Reception[edit]
Departure is released on 1st February 2019.
The singles "Shui" and "Pagi" were first broadcasted by BBC Radio 3, BBC 6 Music[4], Resonance FM, BBC Radio London, Classic FM, and Women's Radio Station in 2018.
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Intro" | Belle Chen | 2:15 |
| 2 | "Pagi (Morning)" | Belle Chen | 4:10 |
| 3 | "Shan (Mountain)" | Belle Chen | 2:43 |
| 4 | "Shui (Water)" | Belle Chen, based on Taiwanese folk song | 3:12 |
| 5 | "Interlude: Waterfall" | Belle Chen | 1:21 |
| 6 | "Chasing the Chirinda Apalis" | Belle Chen | 2:56 |
| 7 | "Cancion to the Passing Train" | Belle Chen | 3:35 |
| 8 | "Déjà Vu" | Belle Chen | 2:52 |
| 9 | "Tito Tries To Light A Fire (Homage to Modest Mussorgsky and Tito Puente)" | Belle Chen | 3:51 |
| 10 | "Interlude: Palmas in the Corridor" | Belle Chen | 1:19 |
| 11 | "Milonga del Angel" | Astor Piazzolla | 3:26 |
| 12 | "Departure" | Belle Chen | 3:10 |
| 13 | "Unmapped" | Belle Chen | 4:21 |
References[edit]
- ↑ "BBC World Service - The Arts Hour, Actor Idris Elba on Directing, Concert pianist Belle Chen on why she performs dangerous operations on her piano". BBC. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
- ↑ "Chinese Arts Now | PODCAST | The first arts festival in the UK dedicated to British-Chinese performance and culture". The Cusp Magazine. 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
- ↑ "Chinese Arts Now - Sunday Brunch 25 - Radio". Monocle. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
- ↑ BBC Music. "BBC Music: Belle Chen". BBC Music. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
Departure (Belle Chen album)[edit]
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