Boreal Solitaire by Amar Lal
Boreal Solitaire - 14 missives from early winter in the Canadian Shield - finds composer Amar Lal in a daily practice of crafting and documenting live performances using a Moog Subharmonicon synthesizer. Created during a 2 week quarantine in a cottage in central Ontario, the works pay musical homage to Edward Abbey’s tradition of finding beauty in a desolate landscape. In order to capture his perceptions of the expansive countryside for this epic ode to his homeland, Lal draws inspiration from the organic, textural synthesis style pioneered in his current home, the Bay Area. Ranging from ecstatic polyrhythms to melancholy ethereality, listeners are immersed in a 70-minute meditative and consuming journey through time and timbre.
The ability to both make a living while quarantined and to have time to explore the boundaries of a new instrument are certainly privileges during a global pandemic. As such, all proceeds will be donated to the Alameda County Food Bank, who currently provide over 1 million meals per week to one of the regions of the US with the highest housing insecurity.
Tracklist
| 1. | Time | 7:03 |
| 2. | moves | 6:14 |
| 3. | forwards | 4:58 |
| 4. | only, | 4:44 |
| 5. | completely | 5:25 |
| 6. | unrelenting. | 4:48 |
| 7. | How | 3:14 |
| 8. | still | 6:55 |
| 9. | can | 5:17 |
| 10. | I | 2:40 |
| 11. | remain | 4:38 |
| 12. | during | 3:12 |
| 13. | its | 6:29 |
| 14. | passage? | 4:09 |
Credits
Created by Amar Lal in Baysville, Ontario during a 2-week quarantine period in December, 2020
Mastered by Greg Obis at Chicago Mastering Service
