Brussels based composer and visual artist Christina Vantzou has announced the follow-up to last years’s magnificent Nº2. Her new album, Nº3, was recorded in Belgium with a 15-piece ensemble of strings, horns, woodwinds and micro-choir. The album saw Vantzou composing and experimenting with classical instruments blended with synths and electronics over the course of two years.
“The tracks vacillate between orchestral, ambient soundscapes and more structured works that the composer refers to as “pillars.””, describes the press release, also mentioning Vantzou’s day job as a math teacher as relevant in this change.

Nº3 will see the light of day on October 16th via Kranky, and it comes with two slow motion videos Vantzou made using a phantom high-speed camera and a 16mm short film.
We’re already getting the first taste of new music from Nº3 in the form of the wonderful new track, ‘Shadow Sun’. Listen to it below.

Last week saw the release of Christina Vantzou‘s second album, Nº2, via Kranky. The Brussels based composer, who is also an acclaimed filmmaker, has just unveiled a befittingly stunning self-directed video for the album’s sublime single ‘Going backwards to recover that which was left Behind’. Watch it beneath.

Kansas City, Missouri born, Brussels based composer, artist and filmmaker Christina Vantzou, who is perhaps best known for being one half of The Dead Texan with Stars of the Lid’s Adam Wiltzie, is ready to unveil the follow-up to her 2011’s No1. In the works for four years, No2 was composed using synthesizers and several unidentified samples. After manipulating these sounds, Vantzou collaborated with Minna Choi of the San Francisco based Magik*Magik Orchestra to transcribe the compositions for a 15-piece ensemble. Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie (Stars of the Lid / A Winged Victory for the Sullen) was also recruited for engineering duties stamping his own signature sound texture on the album. As the press release describes, in No2 “dense layers of strings are augmented by angelic voices, piano, woodwinds, & various synthesizers”.
Take a glimpse at the immersive grandeur of Vantzou’s forthcoming album with the painstakingly beautiful track ‘Going backwards to recover what was left behind’ streaming beneath. And watch out for the release of No2 on February 24th via Kranky.