Closed Beginnings
Ground-breaking music that lands like a gut punch. An inspired sonic journey that draws the listener close to the beauty of the moment in these fast changing times.
Winner of the 2021 APRA AMCOS/AMC Art Music Award for electroacoustic/sound art work of the year
Nominated for an ARIA for ‘Best Jazz Album’ in 2021
Closed Beginnings is the debut collaborative release of Tariro Mavondo (spoken word, poetry), Reuben Lewis (trumpet, electronics) and Peter Knight (trumpet, revox B77 tape machine); three prolific artists at the forefront of Australian contemporary art music, bound together by a deep-rooted connectedness in response to the zeitgeist.
Developed over a three-year period and presented as part of the AAO Recordings Praxis Series, Closed Beginnings is an immersive and evocative electroacoustic work in four movements that utilises the power of spoken word to take the listener deep into themes of revolution, isolation, unshackling from stagnant modes and paying heed to the exigencies of the moment.
Born in Zimbabwe and raised in Narrm/Melbourne, Tariro channels the outdatedness of dogma during a time when the schisms of society are becoming clearer and more prevalent. Her words are silhouetted and sympathetically resonated further by the evocative sound-worlds created by Reuben, Peter and string trio. The result invites the listener to share in a slow blossoming of ideas and connectedness across three deeply rooted musical relationships, tapping into the subconscious, propelled by the uniqueness of the human voice.
“My interest is to find the uniqueness of expression," says Tariro, "to find the nuance, whilst bringing in the underbelly of deep emotions and shining a spotlight into our deepest psyches.”
Closed Beginnings was partially developed through a live premiere on YouTube in the midst of the first Melbourne lockdown in March 26th 2020, following the cancellation of the previously scheduled live performance as part of the MPavilion MMeets series that same morning. Prompting a swift reimagining of the work, the result was masterfully recorded and mixed by Jem Savage. Developed and recorded over numerous sessions between 2019-2021, the evolution of the project has culminated into a striking body of work.
This is exemplified in the feature track of the album, ‘We Too, Roar’, which arose in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic and severe lockdowns experienced in Melbourne through 2020. "Tariro reflects viscerally upon those moments," says Reuben, "giving voice to the counterintuitive sensation of experiencing isolation and fear, whilst at the same time feeling cradled and supported within our own homes. It's a poetic articulation of the juxtaposing abyss and claustrophobia offered by the unknown.”
“Closed Beginnings will take the listener deep into the belly of the beast.” Says AAO Artistic Director, Peter Knight. “It is our intention that the sound worlds we create will hold a safe space for the audience to be drawn close to the material that Tariro is articulating and offering within her poetry.”
“Mavondo delivers her narratives with theatrical verve, whispering here, emoting there, her words cherry-picked for effect, her ideas unfurling within – and responding to – the psycho-electrocacoustic soundscapes fashioned by Lewis and Knight. Golden trumpet tones and delicate percussive flourishes are treated by laptops and played into a Revox machine (à la Eno and Fripp); delays and reverbs are layered into sound collages. Strings add sweetness, heighten longing. Space and time are dissonant, inverted, aiding Mavondo's naming of the push-me-pull-you nature of these times and reigniting the impetus to stay in the present. A bold, affecting work. ★★★★”
“…the brilliant improvisational ability of both musicians is a key element… I found (Mavondo’s spoken words) beautiful to hear, and often highly moving. ★★★★”
"... a series of minimalist and ambient sound-worlds that psychically, rather than rhythmically, mirror Mavondo's words ... an intriguing - and in this case successful - experiment, further evidence of the AAO's on-going interest in breaking down musical barriers."
- Des Cowley, Rhythms Magazine
“The tasteful trumpet parts of Lewis and Knight play key plans in Firefly Jars and even more in the brilliant and oneiric Creases of Gods , which can evoke associations with Jon Hassell's "Fourth World" . The album is crowned with the shortest piece of Sweet Sticky Revolution with drifting and choked electronics, spiced up with psychedelic noises, sounds of objects and Mavondo's mantric voice.”
Credits
released June 25, 2021
Poetry by Tariro Mavondo
Music by Reuben Lewis and Peter Knight
String arrangements composed by Reuben Lewis
Featuring
Tariro Mavondo – spoken word
Reuben Lewis – trumpet/pedals/percussion/synthesisers/electronics
Peter Knight – trumpet/electronics/revox B77 tape machine
Also Featured on ‘We Too, Roar’ & 'Sweet Sticky Revolution'
Lizzy Welsh – violin
Erkki Veltheim – viola
Zoë Barry - cello
Recorded over 2019-2020 at Rolling Stock Recording Rooms, In Rezza & WeFO Studios by Jem Savage & Reuben Lewis
Mixed by Jem Savage & Reuben Lewis
Produced by Reuben Lewis
Mastered by Helmut Erler
Cover image by Pier Carthew
Design by WBYK www.wbyk.com.au
Thank you: Jem Savage, Jerry Remkes, Rosemary Willink, Helen Svoboda, Lizzy Welsh, Erkki Veltheim, Zoë Barry, Leo Dale & WeFO Studios, MPavilion, Francis E. Parker & MUMA.