Julia Kent & Jean DL: The Great Lake Swallows
Gizeh Records

Canadian cellist Julia Kent's reputation as a collaborator of first rank is upheld by this mesmerizing outing with Belgian guitarist-and-tape machine manipulator Jean D.L. Recorded on October 30, 2015 at Le Vecteur in Charleroi, Belgium during a video installation with Sandrine Verstraete, The Great Lake Swallows was generated using field recordings, processed guitar, and cello and blends ambient, modern classical, and drone genres into a powerful package free of excess or bloat. At twenty-six minutes, the release is longer than a standard EP but not quite a full album either. Regardless, its potency isn't diminished by brevity, the recording's length in this instance enhancing dramatically the impact of the performance.

As much as it's a collaboration, Kent who's front and center, her cello the nucleus around which her partner's textures constellate. In all four parts, her playing is distinguished by emotional expressiveness; mournful, multi-layered lines pour forth from her instrument, with the cello's lilting, see-sawing patterns oozing heartache. Still, as central as she is, Jean D.L.'s contributions shouldn't be overlooked; during the second part, for example, the entrancing swirl he provides is as critical to the material's character, even if it's her bowing that ultimately commands the attention.

With string plucks establishing rhythm, the third part assumes a somewhat march-like quality that's fleshed out by field recordings, but it's with the haunting fourth that the release reaches its climax. Slowly building in intensity, the material gradually advances from a prolonged episode of dazed drowsiness to a series of cello convulsions whose plummeting arc suggests bombs dropping. With Kent involved, The Great Lake Swallows is already special, but helping to make it more so is the fact that the CD edition, issued as part of Gizeh's ‘Dark Peak' series, has been made available in a limited 175-copy run, with each one numbered and silkscreen-printed by hand.

August 2018