Jon Balke

Jon Balke’s unique solo work blurs distinctions between composition, improvisation, and sound design as Discourses further develops the methodology introduced with the Norwegian pianist’s Warp album. Integrated in the resonant sound of his piano music are “layered soundscapes” of processed material which Balke describes as “distorted reflections and reverberations from the world.” Underpinning the project are some thoughts about language and the notion of discourse and dialogue as fading concepts in an era of confrontational rhetoric. Balke: “In this work, I had the framework of language with me from the beginning. As the political climate hardened in 2019 with more and more polarized speech, the lack of dialogue pointed me towards the terms that constitute the titles for the tracks.” Discourses was recorded at Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo in December 2019 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Jon Balke (piano, sound processing)

Tracklist
01. the opposition
02. the facilitator
03. the container
04. the assumptions
05. the certainties
06. the suspension
07. the polarization
08. the second argument
09. the why
10. the deliberation
11. the first argument
12. the how
13. the mutuality
14. the first afterthought
15. the second afterthought
16. the third afterthought

Recorded November 1-3, 2018 and December 10-12, 2019 - Auditorio Stelio Molo, RSI Lugano.