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Chronotope Project — Chronology
(Spotted Peccary SPM=2808, 2023, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2023-10-01

Chronology Cover art

Literary theory and the philosophy of language define the chronotope as how configurations of time and space are represented in language and discourse, as well as the arts and sciences. Oregonian composer Jeffrey Ericson Allen chose it as the name for his musical project, which began in earnest around 2010. Although Allen’s involvement in musical endeavors goes back several decades with classical, new acoustic, and theatrical music production, Chronotope Project being only the latest endeavor in the field of contemporart progressive ambient music using synthesizers (using the Haken Continuum fingerboard), sequencer, flutes, whistles, percussion and various stringed instruments, most notably the cello and koto. To date, Chronotope Project has released eleven full length recordings, Chronology being the sixth for Spotted Peccary Music, with five earlier releases on other labels or released independently. Chronology presents a mix of new pieces and reworked material from the pre-Spotted Peccary years, five pieces reworked from four of those five early albums, and apparently the track “Arctic Spring,” a haunting and mournful melodic lament with cello leading, dates all the way back to 1985. Most of the cuts here evoke a dreamlike vision with colorful melodics, overlapping textures and sheets of emotion in powerful explorative panoramas, all providing the foundation for a truly immersive listening experience. The reworking of the introspective title trac from the 2012 Solar Winds album is one that in particular goes far in reaching a high level of floating ambient perfection across its nine minute duration. Using a variety of interesting electronic sounds and textures opening into a widescreen reality, “Mind’s I” offers a soothing and beautiful cascading dream, full of warmth and shimmer. The closing track “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” is something of an oddity among all the others, as it seems to eschew the electronics for a more orchestral sound, apparently originally conceived as a ballet, it’s dominated by strings, harp, woodwinds, and subtle French horns; it’s certainly different, but no less engaging than any of the other nine pieces on Chronology.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Chronotope Project (Jeffrey Ericson Allen)

More info
http://chronotope-project.bandcamp.com/album/chronology

 

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