Peter Knight * Tauceti

PETER KNIGHT – FOR A MOMENT THE SKY KNEW MY NAME

It is almost impossible nót to think of Jon Hassell when you hear Peter Knight playing his trumpet. Like Hassel, he seamlessly integrates jazz, world music, and experimental traditions.

But Knight‘s music does not paint images from the ‘Fourth World’, but is deeply rooted in Australia:
“It is the summer of 2024/25 in Australia as the ideas for this album coalesce from a dozen different threads. I’m camping with my family on Krowathunkooloong land in the south-east corner of the country. […] I am walking up the hill behind the Yeerung with my trumpet in my backpack. Stopping to play momentarily. Trying to find a space in which I can resonate the sounds I make with those around me.”

For A Moment The Sky Knew My Name opens with two relatively short pieces, followed by two longer tracks that take the time to develop at their own pace.
The 20-minute title track is perhaps the most ‘experimental’ in its use of digital deterioration and with the atmospheres contributed by Lawrence English.

Overall, there’s a fascinating interplay between the soft whispering, almost human, voice of the trumpet embedded in otherworldly electronic soundscapes.

Of course, the album deserves to be judged on its own merits and not just by comparison. Knight‘s experience in many different ensembles, like the Australian Art Orchestra, and his compositions for theatre and sound installations can easily be judged on their own. But at the same time, I know many Jon Hassell fans out there probably won’t know his name, but would love to hear this album. So I guess it can’t hurt to explicitly mention the music’s similarity. Don’t miss out on this one!

(Available on CD and digital).

TAUCETI – GUANYIN

Coming from a DJ/Techno background, this Lyon-based Tauceti‘s (Lilou Chelal) first full ambient album. (Somewhat confusingly, Discogs mentions that her name is Alizée Chenal and that she comes from Toulouse. All of that can be true at the same time, of course.)

Using traditional instrument patterns and sounds intimately linked to oriental instruments, and combining them with drone/ambient and distortions where needed, it is a tribute to her Middle Eastern and Asian origins.

There’s a subtle use of rhythm, but nothing like what is usually expected in ‘techno’. On Guanyin, Tauceti ‘explores the border between futurism and cultural heritage’, resulting in atmospheric ambient music with an original sound palette. Which is a thing ambient music currently desperately needs.

Guanyin is released on the Denovali label, which means it is available on CD, Vinyl, and digital.