Der zwischen Stockholm und Athen als Pianist, Composer und Integrationsfigur pendelnde Alex Zethson bringt Mitte August ein neues, im Alleingang produziertes Album heraus. Residy enthält den gleichnamigen, in zwei Abschnitte segmentierten Track, dessen vibrierende organische Dröhnung mit Piano, Synthies und E-BIW erzeugt wurde und motivisch auf Bachs Goldberg-Variation no. 21 basiert. Das Album erscheint digital bei Superpang und als CD bei Zethsons eigenem Thanatosis-Label.
“The music on this album is a variation on a variation, the Goldberg Variation no. 21 by JS Bach. In a moment of realistic modesty, it struck me that I will probably never live up to my old dream of being able to play all the Goldberg variations in a way that’s at least close to the composer’s intentions and that pleases my own ears. However, I reckoned, perhaps I could use the score of one of the pieces as a foundation to build something else. Exploring and at the same time (re)creating the residy, the remains of this variation, and in this process letting a new variation emerge. I built chords based on selected notes from each bar of the piece, but kept the essential structure and retained the note order. The notes and intervals comprising these chords were then dispersed across three sound sources – two synths and a E-bowed grand piano – and the transitions from chord to chord were worked out. I didn’t want to eliminate the rhythmic movement inherent in the original piece, but rather to reimagine the accents and pace. A few strokes on the keyboard were added to create some shape, dynamic and timbre-variation. I notated the pitches, but freely treated the length of the notes. This album consists of the live recorded version of the piece, made without overdubs. Using the three above-mentioned, closely related sound sources, the recording builds on my works creating presence-evoking uncertainty during performances. By creating/enabling sound milieus where performers (myself included) are not entirely sure exactly where the sounds are coming from, I’m trying to establish sensitive, tactile and meditative spaces that can make me float and experience new sensations and connections. I hope that the listener can also enter that space when they listen to this album”. (Alex Zethson)