'Aventine' by Agnes Obel

Aventine

by Agnes Obel

Release date: 30th September 2013

(Image credit: x)

Tracklist: Chord Left / Fuel to Fire / Dorian / Aventine / Run Cried The Crawling / Tokka / The Curse / Pass Them By / Words Are Dead / Fivefold / Smoke & Mirrors //

I rediscovered Anges Obel this year (not knowing that her music was a rediscovery) in a playlist of mainly instrumental piano music. I was told later on that I had actually seen her live as a support for Ludovico Einaudi a few years back and what a shame it was that I didn't appreciate her music as much then as I do now.

However simple the piano pieces and accompaniments may be they definitely are effective. Her instrumental pieces remind me of music from animated films, immediately and effectively presenting and narrating a story as you listen to the piece from beginning to end. Chord Left does this stunningly and flows effortlessly into the second track, Fuel To Fire. Fuel To Fire incorporates instruments other than just the piano – cello, percussion – and the choices of the other instruments work so well within the arrangement. There’s a section of Fuel To Fire that is so subtle, it layers voices whether they are backing singers of her own voice so well that adds this lush reverb effect.

Dorian is a standout track for me. Obel once again applies reverb to her voice making it open and echo-ey, then pushing the sound of the voices further by layering back singers over the top of the chorus. The title track, Aventine, pushes the album in a different direction. Obel is accompanied by pizzicato string movements, although keeping the cello line legato, which grounds the music with lavish deep bass lines. Aventine reminds me of the soundtrack composed by Yann Tiersen for the French film, Amélie, bursting with delicate, bright, and pulsing movements with French vibes.

Tokka, the second instrumental piano piece brings the tone of the album back, grounding it once again where it acts as an interlude between Run Cried The Crawling and The Curse. After the addition of the experimentation of a string accompaniment this idea seems to become exploited further (this is a good thing, a very good thing). The Curse slowly builds with a question and answer phrase between the cello and violin adding a kind of conversation between the instruments while she sings, giving them character. All of the string parts add character to the pieces and work so well together even if the techniques that are being used are entirely contrasting.

Obel said herself that she "recorded everything quite closely, miking everything in a small room...So it's sparse, but by varying the dynamic range of the songs [she] could create almost soundscapes". The album has its own soundscape that draws you in and is produced so well. The overall sound of this album is stunning and the fact that she only uses a small set of instruments (over the entirety of the album) but has managed to create lush sounds that have so much depth but sounds brilliant. Fivefold, the penultimate track on the album, is another instrumental interlude however, it incorporates both the percussive instruments and string instruments that have been previously used on the album not only using piano. It's got a darker more rhythmic feel than most of the other tracks and develops in depth with the exploration of the strings section.

This album is easy to fall in love with, so have a listen below and see what you think yourself.