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Henrik Meierkord — Falling
(Projekt no#, 2024, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-10-25

Falling Cover art

Henrik Meierkord is a player of the cello (as well as other stringed instruments) and composer based in Stockholm, Sweden, but the reach of his music is worldwide, having collaborated with Jarguna (Italy), Black Tape for a Blue Girl (USA), Marco Lucci (Italy), and Logic Moon (Germany), among others. Falling is Meierkord’s second solo release for Projekt Records, and to keep things simple, we will say his stock in trade is ambient music (which would apply to this and his previous release on Projekt, Zeitreisen), although he has worked in a number of different genres to date, including electronic, folk, dance, world, and country. The twelve tracks on Falling offer a rich and dark ambient stew of multi-layered shimmering beauty, the result of his cello, string bass, and viola being provisioned with numerous effects as needed to achieve the introspective solitude and magnificent beauty that best convey the emotion from his compositions. It’s important to note that — unlike most artists working in ambient genres save only a few — Meierkord’s music eschews any of the pure electronics and synthesizers that one might normally find in such endeavors. It’s pure bowed strings and post processing, which gives it a radically unique character, but one that will bring the listener warmth and self-contemplation as each cut proceeds down its dreamy path. The opener, “Tonalitet I” (the first of four parts scattered throughout the album), does an outstanding job introducing Meierkord’s compositional style, tones, and timbres; it’s almost as if the music is breathing, growing, and evolving as it proceeds. “Spelemän” (“Fiddlers”) moves in slightly darker directions, with some beautiful solos along the forest path, while “Vi Faller” (“We Fall”) truly captures that feeling of losing your footing, though without any of the negative after-effects. The two parts of “Övergång” are mournful pieces involving juxtaposed layers of dreamy minor keyed strings, while “Sarabandesque Streicher” and “Sonneri de Viola et Violincell” have more of a classical chamber feel and stand out among all the other pieces here. I suppose that the general tone of Falling may be too dark and serious for some, but for the dauntless ambient traveler it comes highly recommended.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Henrik Meierkord

More info
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/falling

 

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