Classical reinterpretations are easy to come by, but not many are fulfilled with such meticulous grace and innovation, as Murcof and Vanessa Wagner's, Statea.
Wagner, a French pianist and Murcof, an electronic musician of microscopic execution, could have each approached the infamous tracks on this album with their own individual styles, but instead chose to combine. The result is a thoroughly unique and innovative take on the original music, with subtleties of each artist adorning separate tracks, turning decade-long proven piano melodies and patterns into even finer detailed textures for the modern day listener.
John Cage's 1948 piano piece In A Landscape, slowly descends into a chamber of suspended atmospheres and static, as the recognizable keys begin to tinker. Arvo Pärt's opening signature is slowly drubbed into submission by an pounding electronic beat reminiscent of Alva Noto and the most epic of film soundtracks. Aphex Twin's delicate piano piece, Avril 14th gets a rework he may just be happy with (unlike Kanye's rip), with a touching disposition that makes the original somehow even more beautiful. And while Erik Satie's Gnossienne n°3 may not be the most recognizable of pieces from that name, it's the perfect light at the end of a dreary, dream-inducing intro, that sets a scene for the end of the world.
This is an album of intricacies that could have only come from two producers who know the original material so well, only they could have manipulated and shaped it into the successes you'll hear on Statea. If you need an introduction to some of the world's most revered composers, go hunting down the original material. If you need an introduction to two people pushing the boundaries of sound and what a remix can become, look to Murcof and Wagner. Wins all around.
Available through Infine on Bandcamp, digital + LP.
