Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer

• CLASSIC BLACK VINYL LP

French experimental musician, new age pioneer, and global traveler Ariel Kalma has been making music for most of his life, but largely remained obscure until some of his early records were reissued in the 21st century. The Closest Thing to Silence is a collaboration with synthesizer musician Jeremiah Chiu and violist Marta Sofia Honer, who both release music on the International Anthem label. The three musicians first collaborated for BBC Radio 3's Late Junction series in 2022, then expanded their work into a full-length. The record is based in improvisation, and edited together in a collage incorporating recordings Kalma made at pioneering electo-acoustic studio GRM in the '70s, as well as snippets of his spoken instructions to the other musicians. Like some of Kalma's earliest work, the music is filled with swirling, Terry Riley-esque loops, particularly on the hypnotic "Breathing in Three Orbits." All three musicians drive each other into previously uncharted directions, making The Closest Thing to Silence a spirited and successful collaboration.

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Ten Hour Wave
• A2. Breathing In Three Orbits (intro)
• A3. Breathing In Three Orbits
• A4. The Closest Thing To Silence
• A5. Dizzy Ditty
• A6. Une Ombre Légère

• SIDE B
• B1. New Air
• B2. Écoute Au Loin
• B3. A Treasure Chest
• B4. Stay Centered
• B5. Stack Attack