Works like Lisa Bella Donna’s stand as an uplifting and persistent reminder that there is also always great value to be found in the calmer, subtler tones of the world, and that composition and structural specificity are invaluable tools of the soundscaping craft.
An album that is meticulously crafted, minimal, timeless and expertly composed
Lisa Bella Donna’s new release—on Bluetech’s label Behind The Sky Music—takes me back to countless golden moments in classic music, while still landing exquisitely on its own. Carefully crafted roots of guitar at times evoke the work of American folk guitar heroes Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges, while hand-played analog synths and ambience nod to Vangelis, Eno and the solo work of Jon Anderson. Lisa, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, has clearly mastered both in her own style and approach. This is an album that is meticulously crafted, minimal, timeless and expertly composed, the kind I feel compelled to get it on vinyl and listen to during a day long record session, perhaps on 4/20.
The first track, “Take Me in the Morning,” reads like a short film soundtrack, somewhere in between a documentary on rural living, cowboys and fantasy. At almost 24 minutes long, it’s easy to get lost in a vivid imaginary accompaniment and forget this is not the extent of the album as it occupies over half its length. This leads to my only critique, in that the three remaining, shorter tunes, even though they’re equally wonderful, leave me wanting more. But something this great probably shouldn’t change, and I’m probably just being a little entitled. (Only because I need more of this.)
In a musical landscape that often intensely scrambles for occupying our attention, where complexity is the ever-cascading frontier, even ambient pieces can draw me perhaps a bit too closely in at times, demanding a bit more existential dread to be dredged up. (As a producer, I am guilty of all the above, and I’m aware of the irony in sharing this on a predominantly IDM-oriented platform.) Contrastingly, works like Lisa Bella Donna’s stand as an uplifting and persistent reminder that there is also always great value to be found in the calmer, subtler tones of the world, and that composition and structural specificity are invaluable tools of the soundscaping craft.
The World She Wanted is available on Behind The Sky Music March 15, 2021. [Bandcamp]
