Donna McKevitt: Wave EP
Left Out Records

British composer Donna McKevitt follows her earlier 2020 EP Sail with the equally memorable Wave, this one a four-song set originating out of recent film collaborations. Her reputation precedes her, as the saying goes, with the classically trained violist, pianist, and vocalist boasting a background that includes membership in Miranda Sex Garden and collaborations with Nick Cave, Michael Nyman, and others; of late her energy has gone into creating scores for short films and a documentary feature. The word cinematic is admittedly overused, yet there's no denying the evocative potency of the EP's material.

Each track differentiates itself whilst retaining the signature of its creator. Apparently the pieces were written with specific sections of the orchestra in mind, and consequently the focus shifts dramatically from one setting to the next. Massive brass chords introduce “Wave” to brand the material with an epic, Wagnerian bluster, though the horns thereafter declaim at a softer if still anthemic pitch as their tones spread like, yes, ocean waves. As much as the gesture makes for a captivating opening, the material grows even more intoxicating when McKevitt multiplies her voice into a celestial array of sopranos midway through the production.

Aptly titled, “Carousel” loops hypnotically, with strings (McKevitt's credited with viola, violin, and programming on the EP) gathering into pulsing whorls of shimmering sound; strings return for “Dust,” this time in the service of a stirring classical elegy. The low-pitched tones of a bassoon inhabit the instrumental centre of “Snow,” a sombre orchestral meditation inspired by a scene from a tale where a body's dragged through snow and a bloody trail left behind.

Throughout the release, McKevitt uses her considerable gifts as a composer and musician to render these distinctive set-pieces into physical being. Perhaps she'll craft a third EP to complete the trilogy or maybe issue an hour-long full-length that augments the two with four new pieces. Regardless, whatever she decides to do should be worth attending to based on the superior quality of the two 2020 releases.

November 2020