Cæcilie Overgaard | There Is A Home
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Out tomorrow is the latest from Danish electroacoustic composer, Cæcilie Overgaard. The work is somewhat austere, opening with a crackling icy sound and other vibrations. On a few tracks you will hear additional trumpet by Tim Ewé and vocal by Mathias Hammerstrøm. Mic Test One balances the crusty thin ice with the harmonic tones of a wavy synth. The whole recording has a running time of thirty-three minutes, a perfect introduction, and her second full-length after Lydbølgen af hjerteslag back in 2015. I like her assertive electronica, especially on the title track that blares into the open as if being recorded in a wide mountain passage.
Overgaard’s style is this quizzical light/dark world, offering an atmosphere soaked in broad signature strokes, short patterns of poppy electronics and smoothing drones. On Skyggeplet the velvet vocal of Hammerstrøm is only featured sparsely but with a music box style, and all other effects in place, materializes like a lullaby with hints of Sigur Rós. It’s quite a stunning piece. Static, though not containing water at all, has this distinct ebb/flow with a bridge to percussive elements that are enticingly peculiar and raspy. The overall synthetic vibe brings with it a rubbery, half-drunk synth that flails with reluctant abandon. This is the perfect foil for the capsulized Nightfly, with its moody junctures and spherical electronic accouterments. It’s like a fanciful game of ping-pong at zero gravity.
On the closer, Moondance, a series of minimal elements meet to form a delicate work that plays with your depth perception. Ewé‘s horn playing, though fused so well within the mix adds a bright curve to the chillier textures offered by Overgaard’s playful concoction of understated cosmic rhythms. Their harmony is clear, and this showcases how the composer orchestrates a refined sense of subtlety.
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