说明:
(2021) Jeff Greinke - Other Weather
Review:
With Other Weather, a deft integration of classical, electronic, and ambient elements, Jeff Greinke smartly perpetuates the tone of 2018’s Before Sunrise. His fourth release on Spotted Peccary Music and twentieth solo album overall features another collection of refined chamber-ambient settings. Five guests add classical strings, woodwinds, French horn, and percussion to the album, though they appear on only two of the eleven tracks. Having dedicated nearly four decades to music production, Greinke has reached an inordinately high level of sophistication in his sculpting of sonic materials and sensitivity to timbre, mood, and texture. For this project, he obviously drew on weather-related experiences for inspiration, with particular attention paid to meteorological phenomena. The reason is easily explained in the connection he sees between the subject matter and the kind of music he produces. Look no further than the patiently unfolding, densely layered soundscapes presented on the release for the connection to declare itself. Much like the unpredictability of weather patterns, Greinke’s settings develop in accordance with their own internal logic, their creator preferring to allow his pieces to take shape gradually and to let himself be guided by empirical exploration. As stated, guests appear on but two pieces, but the album’s not without acoustic sonorities otherwise. A contemplative piano melody introduces the opening track, “A Stretch of Sun,” which thereafter blossoms into a lulling, cloud-like drift of piano figures and synthetic textures. “Rising Cumulus” likewise threads acoustic details into its dramatic tapestry, in this instance piano and simulated strings. In keeping with the mercurial nature of weather, moods fluctuate, with “Rain Through the Night” brooding and downcast compared to the gentle uplift of other tracks. “Outflow” is Other Weather at its most delicate and, with church organ woven into its design, painterly, and don’t be fooled by the title “Storm Chaser”: whereas another producer might choose bombast, Greinke opts for an intricate latticework of patterns to hint at the turbulence to come. “Snow Across a Windswept Plain” stands out for the enhancements the guests add to it. Their impact is especially pronounced when a major part of the presentation is given to the playing of what’s ostensibly a string quartet; Greg Campbell’s French horn also makes its presence felt during this long-form electroacoustic meditation. The penultimate setting, “Icebreaker,” similarly benefits from the involvement of guests, in this case James DeJoie on clarinet and flute, Heather Bentley on strings, and Campbell once more on French horn. As strong as the pieces are crafted by Greinke alone, there’s no denying the two augmenting him with the playing of others stand out. If ever a recording was conducive to contemplation, Other Weather is it. Throughout the set, atmosphere is critical to the music’s impact as Greinke exploits the power of stillness and locates his tracks within generally quiet and peaceful zones. Were one to regard Other Weather as the quintessential Spotted Peccary release, one wouldn’t be far wrong.
Track Listing:
1.A Stretch of Sun 04:35
2.Rain Through the Night 04:00
3.Falling Sky 05:19 video
4.Rising Cumulus 04:27
5.Snow Across a Windswept Plain 09:05
6.Clouds Like Flying Saucers 04:19
7.Outflow 04:38
8.Storm Chaser 05:41
9.After the Rain 03:49
10.Icebreaker 07:26
11.Across the Sky 05:41
Media Report:
Genre: ambient, classical
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits |
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