Balladeste - Conversations in Ritual (2023)

This exciting 3rd album 'Conversations in Ritual' from the unique and ever-evolving string duo Balladeste, sees longstanding collaborators - Preetha Narayanan (violin) & Tara Franks (cello) enter pastures new with a fully improvised album that celebrates their current meeting point, their musical language and improvised conversations built up through over 10 years of playing together.

Recorded live at Snape Maltings, Suffolk with support from Britten Pears Arts and Help Musicians UK, Balladeste spent a week playing, improvising & recording with collaborator Alex Bonney (recording engineer/electronic musician) to create what has become Conversations in Ritual - a fully improvised musical narrative influenced by the surroundings in which it was created.

Pushing the acoustic qualities of Balladeste's ambient, meditative yet dynamic soundworld, Conversations in Ritual takes the listener on a sonic journey, reflecting on the land, the extremities of climate and the changes we are all effecting. Interspersed with subtle electronics (track 5 & 8), the album travels full circle from the acoustic opening of Dawn Prelude to the electronically manipulated Epilogue, with an intimate final reflection in What remains.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Balladeste - Dawn Prelude (4:31)
1.02 - Balladeste - Rising (5:14)
1.03 - Balladeste - Billow (4:06)
1.04 - Balladeste - Rain Shimmer (3:47)
1.05 - Balladeste - Interlude (2:09)
1.06 - Balladeste - The Call (5:49)
1.07 - Balladeste - Landing (4:22)
1.08 - Balladeste - Epilogue (3:36)
1.09 - Balladeste - What Remains (2:29)