My fascination with minimal music was late coming. I’d love to say I have all of Terry Riley and Philip Glass’ early recordings, but I didn’t just miss the boat, I wasn’t even in sight of the quay. I guess my ambient awakening helped. Even if much of ambient music is painstakingly layered, the sense of quiet in many of the recordings peaked my interest in decay and those unembarrassed moments of silence once the notes expend all their energy, ceasing to exist except in the mind of the listener. Space between sounds is a dark art that many musicians, and even less producers understand, and then mostly later in life.
Yair Elazar Glotman and Mats Erlandsson have given space some serious thought, and if you want something of a masterclass then you should give Glory Fades your undivided attention.
Yair Elazar Glotman and Mats Erlandsson (photo by
Apparently Mats Erlandsson is something of a Swedish drone sage, a distinction that surely helped secure him a studio technician role at the renowned Elektronmusikstudion in Stockholm. On this recording as well as machine tinkering he also takes care of plucked and bowed acoustic guitars, zithers and bells. Yair Elazar Glotman is a Berlin based composer and a musician trained on classical contrabass but focussed more on taking that instrument, and also the piano on this recording, into more textural territory. They also phone some minimally minded friends with Gaianeh Pilossian adding some violin, Andrea Belfi supplying rogue drums on one track and none other than Mephisto Wunderbar chipping in with some cimbalom.
The recording is a textural feat with notes appearing in glorious isolation, or exquisite refrains repeated to perfection, never outstaying their welcome. The detailing is devilish, with the subtlest of unidentified sounds coming and going at just the right moments, somehow amplifying rather than hindering their more melodic counterparts. Occasionally notes are extended past their natural lifespan, not for vanity but rather to elevate the succinct plucking, pressing and bowing.
Erlandsson and Glotman really do have a rare talent for creating engaging music with very little. Some minimal albums can feel a bit sterile and somewhat academic, but this recording has a real warmth, easy accessibility and deserves your attention.
Comments