Barbieri, Richard: Under A Spell

Often, some of the most interesting journeys are those that we didn’t intend to take. New, hidden ways discovered as we seek out something we’re not quite yet sure of. Under A Spell from Japan and Porcupine Tree lynchpin Richard Barbieri may be one such voyage.

The intention was to make an album, but one that followed on from the format the synth master had taken with his Planets + Persona release, where Barbieri traveled the world interacting live with musicians who could take his already unburdened by boundaries ideas and add new dimensions. We all, of course, know what happened next and in a world where travel, live collaboration and even meeting others became nigh on impossible, the composer still refused to be silenced. Under A Spell is what came out of that determination, a record formed at home, in the studio, under the darkest of circumstances but still with a large and varied cast of helpers who add a host of organics to the digital. Trumpets, vibraphone, violin and sampled voices amongst a few of the aspects that help form a dark album that is bookended by a pair of tracks which seem to hold the key to understanding. Interpretation, however, can come in many forms and while both “Under A Spell� and “Lucid� contain voices, they are whispers and suggestions from Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Sophie Worthen, Lisen Rylander Love and Suzanne Barbieri that offer little in the way of understanding but plenty of substance.

Surging from full on groove fixated forays to bulging bass driven demands, most of what occurs actually happens in between these more obvious escapes. Ambient noises echoing and soothing as the atmosphere is built up through some enigmatically sparse sections but also via areas that could be construed as verging into jazz and world music. “Sleep Will Find You�, which in the wrong hands could be seen as a mere linking piece, clicks and whirs in a dreamy meander and yet it also proves thoroughly engrossing in the same way the much more clearly pointed “Serpent� slithers with real purpose. And it’s these little asides that don’t just reinforce but embolden the inky black but still forceful ventures.

Under A Spell is an album that probably works best through headphones and the enforced isolation that experience demands. In circumstances such as those, its impact can be rather intoxicating.

Track Listing
1. Under A Spell
2. Clockwork
3. Flare 2
4. A Star Light
5. Serpentine
6. Sleep Will Find You
7. Sketch 6
8. Darkness Will Find You
9. Lucid

Added: June 6th 2021
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Richard Barbieri online
Hits: 634
Language: english

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