Tuesday 21 August 2007

VALGEIR SIGURDSSON 'EKVILIBRIUM'

1. Symmetry
2. Evolution of Waters
3. Focal Point
4. Baby Architect
5. After Four
6. Winter Sleep
7. Equilibrium Is Restored
8. Before Nine
9. Kin
10. Lungs, for Merrilee

" 'Ekvílibríum' is Sigurðsson's first solo album, and includes vocal performances from Bonnie 'Price' Billy, who helps craft one of the highlights of the album, 'Kin', where rivers of strings flow around playful music boxes and prepared piano, as well as contributions from Faun Fables' Dawn McCarthy and J. Walker aka Machine Translations. It's an album that blends genres so
effortlessly and gracefully that the word 'genre' itself becomes obsolete, mixing all the vital elements like a bricklayer mixes concrete; at first just basic ingredients and particles of dust, but with careful blending and a watchful eye they form an unbreakable bond and an unstoppable force. Despite the solidity of Sigurðsson's ideas, there is also a fluidity between the
tracks, and even within them. The theme of water trickles through the album, with direct references in titles such as 'Evolution of Waters' to the general aesthetic feel of the album; from the dripping percussion of 'Equilibrium is Restored' to the tidal waves of strings engulfing the listener on the effervescent 'Before Nine'. With 'Ekvílibríum', Valgeir Sigurðsson has shown that
as well as being a gifted producer, engineer and musician, he is also equally as talented as a crafter of songs and instigator of a cascade of emotions. Fans of everything from Björk to Brian Eno to Telefon Tel Aviv will finds themselves falling in love with the album's lucidity, its beauty and its emotional impact. Having worked on many era-defining releases of the past, Sigurðsson
has now created one of his own."

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