Sound and vision, vision and sound, acclaimed media artist Quayola is a visualiser who works with convergence and endless flow, breaking down boundaries, exploring possibilities and creating experiences. Having collaborated with Jamie XX, Plaid and the late, great Mira Calix, weaving imagery into their soundscapes, more recently he has been developing his own music-focused project, alongside musician and technologist Seta.
The result of this intriguing new partnership is the album Transient, due for digital release on May 20th. Performed originally by Quayola/Seta as a live work combining motorized pianos and video projections, the pair have taken the notion of electronic improvisational music to another level with Transient’s recorded pieces. Using software especially developed through meticulous experimentation, the compositions on the album are generated rather than evolved, emerging from a complex interaction of sound producing algorithms.
This may sound technologically mind boggling but the key here is that the music which Quayola/Seta have captured through their high-brow experimentation is stunningly fluid and intriguingly intense. Preview track ‘Transient #B_022-03’ from the full work hints at just why this release demands full anticipation. With foundations in an almost conventional procession of stately bass notes, cascades of rippling piano trills soon intervene, frenetic, delicate and alive. As these tumbling note clusters organise themselves, a sub techno pulse provides sensitive solidity before the exquisitely melodic coda ends this brief elemental encounter.
The track enticingly signals that whatever the source, whatever the process, the music of Quayola/Seta has the depth to resonate and that as an album ‘Transient’ will leave a deep emotional impression.
New Track: Multi-media originals Quayola/Seta preview their evocative debut album ‘Transient’
