Gelsey Bell, Erin Rogers - Skylighght (2024) [Hi-Res]

Singer Gelsey Bell and saxophonist Erin Rogers have created a music built essentially upon mutual sensitivity. The sounds from each musician join together and intertwine as they cooperatively build each composition, and neither can move without impacting the other. The interlaced vibrations from voice and saxophone unite and react in a dynamic interplay as the two musicians become one in sound. The acoustic resonance of physical environment plays its part as well to inform an interactive relationship between performer and space.

The luminescent sonic jewels discovered through this collaborative process have been gathered to form Bell’s and Rogers’s new album, Skylighght. Much of this music’s enchantment is conveyed though its title - a nod to Adam Saroyan’s infamous poem, “lighght,” which the poet describes in saying, “that the crux of the poem is to try and make the ineffable, which is light... into a thing. An extra ‘gh’ does it...” The physical vibrations of Skylighght turn acoustics into intangible expressive energies through the performers’ dynamics and shared emphasis on breath; their interwoven resonances sculpt the compositions like a dance, with the two performers linked in movement of pitch and pulse. Moods on the album range from serene to yearning to discordant, often within a single composition, yet a sense of stillness is consistent from beginning to end.

Compositionally, the pieces of Skylighght are scored, each with its own emphasis on a specific set of techniques or strategies, though improvisation plays a primary role in determining structure and performance. Many variables contribute to this requisite spontaneity such as the dynamics of different acoustic spaces and the relative unpredictability of the performers’ interaction, factors upon which the compositions depend. Both musicians follow the sound as it finds its own path, working with it to develop new possibilities. A primary technique of many Skylighght compositions is that of Bell singing into the bell of Rogers’s saxophone while Rogers is playing. In this way, Bell pushes her voice through the same curves and material of the horn as well as the same augmentations of Rogers’s fingerings; Bell’s voice also reaches and activates the saxophone’s reed. Through this distinctive process, Bell and Rogers discover and articulate sounds, tonalities and multiphonics that are unique to their pairing.

Complimenting the performance techniques of the Skylighght project is the hyper awareness of its acoustic environment. The sonic resonance of space functions like an additional performer to the pair of Bell and Rogers. For this album, two of the same pieces were each recorded in two very different locations: a small, stone catacomb in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery and a beautiful studio live room (at Oktaven Audio in Mt. Vernon, NY). The renditions of each piece stand as distinct interpretations and comprise four of Skylighght’s five tracks.

Skylighght is an innovative album expressing a rare poetics of sound hinged on the union of musicians and environment. As physical vibrations radiate forth, rebound and combine, the performers coax their resonances and dynamics into intuitively felt energies. Stillness and discord alternately swell and subside in interlocked play with one another.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Erin Rogers, Gelsey Bell - Echidna Chasm (8:06)
1.02 - Erin Rogers, Gelsey Bell - Anhumas Abyss (8:26)
1.03 - Erin Rogers, Gelsey Bell - Twin Pollux (9:20)
1.04 - Erin Rogers, Gelsey Bell - Nereo Cave (6:50)
1.05 - Erin Rogers, Gelsey Bell - Antelope Canyon (7:49)