Julia Kent - Character

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 8 / 4 / 2013

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'Character' is Julia Kent's third instrumental solo album and her first for the Leaf Label. Her cello and omnichord pieces are produced with many carefully found sounds, making this solo performance seem like that of a modern chamber music trio or quartet. Her playing is rather introverted and only at times beguiling. Featuring baroque effects, on 'Flicker' for example, Julia Kent, however, steps beyond minimalism. 'Tourbillon' has a pop music kind of quality to it and could easily be included in a performance of film or ballet - she has written scores and is strongly affiliated with ballet and dance. Yet, I find it not easy to choreograph, in my mind, the music on 'Character'. The tracks 'Ebb' and 'Fall' lean towards drone music. Tension and drama, of a sinister character, proves haunting on 'Kingdom', which was the first composition to truly challenge my imagination. 'Kingdom' is the longest track, although it still lasts only five minutes, and indicates that Julia Kent has been too harsh on herself in the final edit of many pieces. 'Only Child' comes across as a sad lullaby, yet perhaps portrays her best as a loner in New York City. Gradually 'Character' started to get a grip on me. On 'Intent' she incorporates touches of gamelan music which set a repetitive quality and at the same time echo the acoustics of a subway platform. Without urban field recordings, 'Character' bears individual urban qualities that strive to rise above the masses. The rather melodramatic 'Salute' prepares for the romanticism, which can be found in the closing track 'Nina and Oscar'. Mixed feelings characterize 'Character'. Equally grim as well as lovely, and both distant and personal, 'Character' reveals a clear lack of compositional talent. The methodical Roll the Dice remix of 'Transportation' hints at the potential of her compositions and her performance. This extra track, a free download, shows that Julia Kent's dots and loops should not be set against her cello and omnichord playing. Unlike their own masterly orchestrated chaos, Black Dice, for once, remix and do not restructure.

Track Listing:-

1 Ebb
2 Transportation
3 Flicker
4 Tourbillo
5 Fall
6 Kingdom
7 Only Child
8 Intent
9 Salute
10 Nina And Oscar

Band Links:-

http://www.juliakent.com/
https://www.facebook.com/juliakent.music
https://twitter.com/juliakent
http://music.juliakent.com/
http://www.songkick.com/artists/976597-julia-kent
https://www.youtube.com/user/juliaxkent

Label Links:-

http://www.theleaflabel.com/en/index.php
https://www.facebook.com/theleaflabel
https://twitter.com/theleaflabel
https://www.youtube.com/user/theleaflabel
https://plus.google.com/109098497483046618790

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