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LP
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GRLP 1029LP
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LP version. "I first heard Chantal Acda sing and play the early 2000's in San Sebastian, Spain. I shared the bill that night with her group Sleeping Dog. After their set was finished and I had caught my breath, I thought of Sandy Denny and Cat Power and Van Morrison and every singer who had ever hijacked my tears and lifted me towards a light . . . Chantal and I eventually joined forces in a trio with drummer Eric Thielemans that we named Distance, Light & Sky . . . While Chantal's three previous solo albums were immaculately produced by two luminaries of the so-called 'post-classical' scene (Nils Frahm, Peter Broderick and Phill Brown respectively), Saturday Moon is a more feral child and is all the stronger for it . . . When I talked to Chantal about the album, she made it clear that this shift in tone and method was quite purposeful. She had decided to produce the album herself to protect the clarity and freedom of that vision . . . The first song and title track 'Saturday Moon' feels liberated and bursting with ideas from its first notes onward. Drummer Eric Thielemans supple groove sets up Congolese guitarist Rodriguez Vangama's gorgeous soukous flourishes which sets up the Pūwawau singers's soaring vocalizations on the refrain. It is a free-spirited mix of things, that maintains an elegant coherence because of Chantal's always assured songwriting, arranging and vocal presence. The album continues to spin and turn and upend preconceptions throughout its length. There are sonic surprises like Alan from Low's guitar synth on 'Disappear,' a song that ends in a tornado of electricity and also features backing vocals from Low bandmate Mimi. Atmospheric guitar legend Bill Frisell delicately converses with two tracks. Shahzad Ismaily of Tom Waits and Marc Ribot fame plays haunted six string fractures on one of the album's darkest songs "Conflict of Minds", together with Borgar Magnason (Sigur Rós, Björk). There are eighteen musicians in total on the album. Strings, horns, contrabass and piano are also woven into the kaleidoscopic, eclectic mesh . . . Through all of the diverse sonic shapeshifting and emotional ground covered on Saturday Moon Chantal may have at last discovered her natural musical home. One that includes many sympathetic collaborators but at the same time is not boxed in by other people's agendas and expectations..." --Chris Eckman, Ljubljana, January 2021
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CD
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GRCD 1029CD
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"I first heard Chantal Acda sing and play the early 2000's in San Sebastian, Spain. I shared the bill that night with her group Sleeping Dog. After their set was finished and I had caught my breath, I thought of Sandy Denny and Cat Power and Van Morrison and every singer who had ever hijacked my tears and lifted me towards a light . . . Chantal and I eventually joined forces in a trio with drummer Eric Thielemans that we named Distance, Light & Sky . . . While Chantal's three previous solo albums were immaculately produced by two luminaries of the so-called 'post-classical' scene (Nils Frahm, Peter Broderick and Phill Brown respectively), Saturday Moon is a more feral child and is all the stronger for it . . . When I talked to Chantal about the album, she made it clear that this shift in tone and method was quite purposeful. She had decided to produce the album herself to protect the clarity and freedom of that vision . . . The first song and title track 'Saturday Moon' feels liberated and bursting with ideas from its first notes onward. Drummer Eric Thielemans supple groove sets up Congolese guitarist Rodriguez Vangama's gorgeous soukous flourishes which sets up the Pūwawau singers's soaring vocalizations on the refrain. It is a free-spirited mix of things, that maintains an elegant coherence because of Chantal's always assured songwriting, arranging and vocal presence. The album continues to spin and turn and upend preconceptions throughout its length. There are sonic surprises like Alan from Low's guitar synth on 'Disappear,' a song that ends in a tornado of electricity and also features backing vocals from Low bandmate Mimi. Atmospheric guitar legend Bill Frisell delicately converses with two tracks. Shahzad Ismaily of Tom Waits and Marc Ribot fame plays haunted six string fractures on one of the album's darkest songs "Conflict of Minds", together with Borgar Magnason (Sigur Rós, Björk). There are eighteen musicians in total on the album. Strings, horns, contrabass and piano are also woven into the kaleidoscopic, eclectic mesh . . . Through all of the diverse sonic shapeshifting and emotional ground covered on Saturday Moon Chantal may have at last discovered her natural musical home. One that includes many sympathetic collaborators but at the same time is not boxed in by other people's agendas and expectations..." --Chris Eckman, Ljubljana, January 2021
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CD
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GZH 054CD
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Live in Dresden features six songs from Let Your Hands Be My Guide (GZH 046CD/LP), played by Chantal Acda, Alan Gevaert, Eric Thielemans & Gaetan Vandewoude. Currently based in Belgium, Dutch-born Chantal Acda (b. 1978) has worked under the Sleepingdog moniker since 2006, making three acclaimed albums that closed on the With Our Heads in the Clouds and Our Hearts in the Fields (2010) album for which she collaborated with Adam Wiltzie (Stars Of The Lid, A Winged Victory For The Sullen). They toured the UK and Benelux with Low in 2011. After all this, it was time for her first real solo record. Playing in various formations had made her conscious of the patterns that we all, as humans, share in. So, she sought out kindred spirits with whom she might record an album filled with freedom and intensity, and who were conscious of the patterns we so often fall back on. Nils Frahm was the first of these to cross her path. The inventive German pianist and producer is an intense and adventurous performer and was a perfect match for this project. Acda also experienced a direct bond with Peter Broderick, a multi-instrumentalist known from his solo work (on labels such as Bella Union and Erased Tapes) and from his work with, among others, Efterklang. Cellist extraordinaire Gyda Valtysdottir from Icelandic group múm had previously worked with Chantal as a member of the Sleepingdog live band. And lastly, Shahzad Ismaily stumbled into this picture by chance, but when Acda and he found themselves in the same room they formed an instant rapport. The circle completed, Acda had found the four worlds that would enable her to record the album in full freedom. Power revealed through vulnerability. Nils Frahm, who plays throughout the record, also took on the role of producer. What began as a journey ended as this wonderful record -- one wherein the five musicians were able to find their place together, and with great warmth, tell their story. Limited edition of 500 hand-made/hand-numbered copies.
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GZH 046CD
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Currently based in Belgium, Chantal Acda (b. 1978) has worked under the Sleepingdog moniker since 2006, making three acclaimed albums that closed on the With Our Heads in the Clouds and Our Hearts in the Fields (2010) album for which she collaborated with Adam Wiltzie (Stars Of The Lid, A Winged Victory For The Sullen). They toured the UK and Benelux with Low in 2011. After all this, it was time for her first real solo record. Playing in various formations had made her conscious of the patterns that we all, as humans, share in. So, she sought out kindred spirits with whom she might record an album filled with freedom and intensity, and who were conscious of the patterns we so often fall back on. Nils Frahm was the first of these to cross her path. The inventive German pianist and producer is an intense and adventurous performer and was a perfect match for this project. Acda also experienced a direct bond with Peter Broderick, a multi-instrumentalist known from his solo work (on labels such as Bella Union and Erased Tapes) and from his work with, among others, Efterklang. Cellist extraordinaire Gyda Valtysdottir from Icelandic group múm had previously worked with Chantal as a member of the Sleepingdog live band. And lastly, Shahzad Ismaily stumbled into this picture by chance, but when Acda and he found themselves in the same room, they formed an instant rapport. The circle completed, Acda had found the four worlds that would enable her to record the album in full freedom. Power revealed through vulnerability. Nils Frahm, who plays throughout the record, also took on the role of producer. What began as a journey ended as this wonderful record -- one wherein the five musicians were able to find their place and, together, and with great warmth, tell their nine-song story.
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LP
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GZH 046LP
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LP version. Currently based in Belgium, Chantal Acda (b. 1978) has worked under the Sleepingdog moniker since 2006, making three acclaimed albums that closed on the With Our Heads in the Clouds and Our Hearts in the Fields (2010) album for which she collaborated with Adam Wiltzie (Stars Of The Lid, A Winged Victory For The Sullen). They toured the UK and Benelux with Low in 2011. After all this, it was time for her first real solo record. Playing in various formations had made her conscious of the patterns that we all, as humans, share in. So, she sought out kindred spirits with whom she might record an album filled with freedom and intensity, and who were conscious of the patterns we so often fall back on. Nils Frahm was the first of these to cross her path. The inventive German pianist and producer is an intense and adventurous performer and was a perfect match for this project. Acda also experienced a direct bond with Peter Broderick, a multi-instrumentalist known from his solo work (on labels such as Bella Union and Erased Tapes) and from his work with, among others, Efterklang. Cellist extraordinaire Gyda Valtysdottir from Icelandic group múm had previously worked with Chantal as a member of the Sleepingdog live band. And lastly, Shahzad Ismaily stumbled into this picture by chance, but when Acda and he found themselves in the same room, they formed an instant rapport. The circle completed, Acda had found the four worlds that would enable her to record the album in full freedom. Power revealed through vulnerability. Nils Frahm, who plays throughout the record, also took on the role of producer. What began as a journey ended as this wonderful record -- one wherein the five musicians were able to find their place and, together, and with great warmth, tell their nine-song story.
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