Photo: Reiner Pfisterer

s t a r g a z e‘s upcoming One is one of the albums slated for release this year that we’re eagerly anticipating. An orchestral suite, the record was composed for the Berlin-based experimental ensemble by a phenomenal cast of musicians, Tyondai Braxton, Nik Colk Void, Greg Saunier, Arone Dyer and Aart Strootman.  “We tried to think of composers who knew s t a r g a z e’s musician well from previous live interactions, who had an appreciation of classical music, and who are known as innovative, flexible producers”, explained the ensemble’s conductor André De Ridder. “We wanted those who could think of the recorded parts as something that could also be ‘processed’ afterwards and manipulated. These tracks were open to development at every step, and no two pieces followed the same method or style. The only constant was remote collaboration.”

One is set for release on November 25th through Transgressive Records and we can already hear the first cut from it, ‘Recollection Pulse #3’ , composed by Nik Colk Void, who other than being one half of Factory Floor and one third of Carter Tutti Void, is also known for her work using modular systems, voice and guitar. She comments:

“Working alongside this collective of classically trained musicians brought me out of my comfort zone as a modular synth artist. I lean towards assertoric compositions built via the appreciation of chance happenings through improvisation, and the recording it was a challenge too; feeling blindfolded to the outcome, we began to naturally bend our known rules and experience a crossing which was far more reliant on emotion rather than direction.”

Clocking in at just under ten minutes, ‘Recollection Pulse #3’ is a monumental cut that summons a sense of the infinite and we can’t stop playing it.