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, and
RVNG Intl.
released the remarkable
Evolutionary Music
anthology of previously unreleased works in 2014. Since then,
Kalma
has been united with several major figures of contemporary experimental electronic music, most notably
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
(as part of
RVNG
's acclaimed
FRKWYS
series) and
Sarah Davachi
.
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
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
's earliest work, the music is filled with swirling,
Terry Riley
-esque loops, particularly on the hypnotic "Breathing in Three Orbits," but the sounds veer from cyclical patterns and trippy effects to cool, bubbling synth sequences, following an ever-shifting current. The overall tone is uplifting as well as curious, with selections like "Une Ombre Légère" taking on a more spiritual aura. "A Treasure Chest" is mesmerizing, with its various elements (clicking beats, chirping crickets, synth sparkles) coexisting without quite following the same rhythm, before
Honer
's heavenly viola playing stands out near the end. "Stack Attack" also starts out with a detached beat sequence before clearing out and giving
room to shine. All three musicians drive each other into previously uncharted directions, making
a spirited and successful collaboration. ~ Paul Simpson