It’s been seven years since Stockholm-based composer and musician Kali Malone released her landmark ‘The Sacrificial Code’, a recording which not only opened wider doors for her as an artist but also stands as a seminal work in the post-classical canon. Since then, her creative impetus has not faltered and rumblings of any new project gently rustles anticipation. Whether collaborative or solo, writing for ensemble or performing on her beloved pipe organ, Malone always meets your expectations and now, with new album ‘Burning Song’, she once again delivers.
For this latest release Malone has returned to work with boundary pushing cellist Lucy Railton and esteemed guitarist experimenter Stephen O’Malley (of Sunn O))) and so on). This trio last convened on Malone’s self-evolving long form epic ‘Does Spring Hide Its Joy’ in 2023 but unsurprisingly, for such a singular combo, ‘Burning Song’ shuffles the parameters. This time they work more acoustically, Malone joining the sonic interaction through playing the pipe organ rather than bringing synthesis to Railton and O’Malley’s interwoven cello and guitar. The result feels immediate and mutual, a series of hypnotic minimal pieces shaped by the trio, which flow with a graceful intimacy.
An eerie sigh of air through organ pipes opens the album and begins to sketch the mournful Grieving Figure. There is a sombre hum around the head-bowed monotone before Railton’s cello coaxes slow, deliberate movement within the piece. The three players’ minimal combinations merge like shadows, generating a deep swell of sound and harmony. Their notes are extended and respectful then finally compressed into a single high frequency tone.
The context of the recording is central to the reverential aura of ‘Burning Song’. Like many of Malone’s works the performance was captured in a church setting, in this case Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where J.S. Bach was once the cantor. Since 1950 the church has also been the final sanctuary for the composer’s remains. The current Thomaskirche organ, which Malone plays on ‘Burning Song’, was also modelled closely on Bach’s original instrument. Such an historical setting could have restrained many a musician but Malone, O’ Malley and Railton are clearly empowered by these surroundings.
Map The Path captures purpose and progress in its upwards climb, the trio exploring an assured chord ascent which suggests some hope. There’s a delicate puff of expectancy from the organ as it greets each long note, like blowing a dandelion seed ball and setting spores on their way. Equally fulsome, Bells On A Branch keeps a prolonged single note at its spine to feed a sequence of chord harmonies which branch out at tantalising intervals.
Subtle contrast hovers through ‘Burning Song’ for the listener to discover or maybe imagine. Joy and sadness, comfort and suffering all rub shoulders within these pieces. On Crawling Ashore the chord cycle shifts gently, luring you into the drama. The ascending sequence suggests gradual emergence but Rialton’s cello and O‘Malley’s guitar add a low end weariness to the tune.
This opening quartet of pieces were written and performed at the 2023 Venice Music Biennale so there is an inherent coherency about them. However played in this specific setting, with this configuration they have absorbed different energies and added other shades to their meanings. Perhaps this explains why the final three tracks, written in the month before the recording, merge with these ‘older’ compositions so naturally. They proceed with the same frictionless, processional foundations and shimmer with the same immersive quality.
Sounding A Void builds beautiful layered harmonies which lift and fall balletically. You sense a pattern but can’t be sure. Following on in close proximity Heavy With Fruit presents the illusion of repetition but there also seems to be more separation between the tones, the players making their own delicate adjustments. You can picture the intense concentration and interaction between Malone, O’Malley and Railton as they gather momentum here. Closing with My Eve My Dawn, the shifts between each note the trio strike in unison happen more rapidly and suggest a move towards resolution. In the final cycle, Railton’s cello brings a heart wrenching tug to the foreground of the soundscape, a flicker not to be forgotten.
With ‘Burning Song’ Kali Malone has once again gifted us with an album which is not just an in-the-moment experience. It’s music which has a residual impact, forged with an emotional depth which leaves a lasting impression.
Get your copy of ‘Burning Song‘ by Kali Malone from your local record store or direct from Ideologic Organ HERE
