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Fractal Sextet — Sky Full of Hope
(RareNoise RNR135, 2024, CD / LP / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-01-21

Sky Full of Hope Cover art

One could make a plausible argument that this all started back around 2010 or so with guitarist and composer Stephan Thelen’s band Sonar, a band which we covered extensively at every step along the way, and which still is active to this day. Then came other projects, like Thelen’s Fractal Guitar trilogy and the remixes thereof, which could be seen as leading to the formation of the Fractal Sextet, whose first eponymous release came in 2022, featuring Thelen, guitarist Jon Durant, bassist Colin Edwin (from Porcupine Tree), keyboardist Fabio Anile, Israeli drummer Yogev Gabay, and percussionist Andi Pupato. The sextet’s second, Sky Full of Hope, arrived at the end of 2024, with precisely the same lineup as the first. This time out, Thelen shares composition duties with Durant and Anile, track depending, and throughout the additional percussion makes all the difference, with the driving rhythms powered by Edwin’s bass and Gabay’s drums, like deep pulses coming in from parts unknown, in many respects not at all unlike Sonar, though a bit more melodically free at the upper ends, and having two guitarists on hand with keyboards to boot offers plenty of freedom for the sound to shift around and take on different hues and personas. The Frippian e-bowed guitar that follows throughout “Flight of the Phoenix” is certainly one of the highlights here, as it wanders and traces colors through the night sky, all the while the deep pulsing rhythms setting the stage. Opener “Uneven” launches with some metallic sounding percolations, eventually bringing the whole group together under the guidance of Anile’s piano lines and a stuttering math rhythm. Beginning with a gentle ambient touch, “Ladder to the Stars” sweeps through a mystical soundworld for several minutes before finding some sharp defining angles that allow the piece to take shape over its twelve-plus minute duration. An electronic remix of “Ladder” bonus track stretches out to nearly eighteen minutes, though the original version seems to have a lot more going for it. The percussion rules the sound again on “Four Hands,” moving up a steady incline with keyboards at the fore and soaring guitars locking in with the intense rhythms. There are plenty of brilliant turns, bends, twists and curves throughout Sky Full of Hope to keep the intrepid listener engaged.


Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Colin Edwin, Stephan Thelen, Jon Durant, Fractal Sextet

More info
http://stephanthelen.bandcamp.com/album/sky-full-of-hope-3

 

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