Tomáš Šenkyrik: Hajú
Slowcraft

Remove the six-panel insert from this late-2022 Slowcraft release's yellow envelope and you'll find a striking photo of Tomáš Šenkyrik wielding a dauntingly large field recording device. However much the image suggests Hajú—an old Moravian word that loosely translated means “hush hush”—will ground itself in field recordings, the release turns out to be as distinguished by its musical dimension and acoustic instrument sounds. To that end, the Czech composer is indebted to Pavel Rajmic and Marie Puttnerová, the former for his violin and double bass playing and the latter for her vocals on the title track. Šenkyrik sensitively blends their contributions with synthetic textures and, yes, field recordings into a transporting statement that casts a spell for thirty-seven engrossing minutes.

The creak and rustle of real-world sounds introduces “Advent,” but it's not long before instrument timbres emerge to help the material blossom into a riveting evocation. Wavering synthetic tones and percussive accents add to the enchantment, the impression of child-like innocence amplified by the faint sounds of children's voices. A flood of synthesizers eventually enters to bolster the material's already radiant character, and Rajmic makes his presence felt too in adding plaintive violin gestures to the sound portrait.

“Rusava” is representative of the release in the way it weaves field-recorded water sounds, elegiac violin expressions, and softly shimmering keyboard melodies into a poignant reverie. In “1344” and “Mami,” family interactions create a warm, intimate backdrop to the meditative hush generated by the musical instruments. Harmonium-like timbres, fiddle sawing, and bass tones give “Noc” a rustic quality that conjures images of an out-of-time pub located in the remote Irish countryside. With Puttnerová's soft voice gracing the lullaby-like title track, the album ends on a stirring note.

January 2023