“Many of my projects are inspired by a particular setting, and I have become more connected and interested in that place,” says Timothy. I have written of his residency in 2021. song of the earth As his starting point, he continued. The didactic use of “Up” is debatable (can a four-minute lullaby change someone’s mind about global warming?) Still, thanks to Timothy’s departure instincts , there is a mixture of its transportive sounds. Once you understand what’s behind the music, songs that evoke family ties, the natural world, classical canons, and even geological profundity become powerful constellations of power and ideas.
Despite concentrating on the piano, Encounter with the Judas Tree It captures a richer, more enveloping world of sound than any of Timothy’s albums to date. The opening “Plunge” wraps its ascending optimistic chord progression with hints of springy electronics and strings. On “Drift,” Sierra Leone-born, New York-based musician Ramin Fofana adds flickering, slurred shapes to Timothy’s mournful chords as birds chirp around. Some of these pieces feel like clever tricks and so gradually incorporate a welter of disorienting detail that you don’t really know where you are. It opens with a loud piano, but as the song builds momentum, birdsong gains volume and an additional topline melody is played. Yu Soo It shows. Running through a battery of blurry effects streaks like a contrail across the sky. Somehow, in just three and a half minutes, we were taken from the practice room to a vast plain where birds and flying machines sketched vectors across the sky. I am overwhelmed by the feeling of openness.
Timothy’s writing style is so unique that sometimes you can’t tell if he’s repeating himself. The evocative chords of “Wood” are strongly reminiscent of the 2020s song “Slave.” help That theme reappeared in multiple places on that album. Even if this habit of repeating favorite motifs is a deliberate part of Timothy’s process, listening to his work can leave you with a slight sense of déjà vu…a playstyle in a new direction. Fortunately, Encounter with the Judas Tree, which many collaborators have helped unfamiliarize with his sound. Neither “Wood” nor “Drift” would be the same without the contributions of Yu Su and Fofana respectively. Similarly, the nearly nine-minute “Mutate” is largely airborne thanks to the playing of London guitarist Kiran Kai, and its brittle, metallic slant against Timothy’s free-floating chords and pulsating synths on his bassline. function as a useful counterpoint. Somewhere in the mix, there is a sound emanating from the bark of a birch tree, and the whole thing resembles the silhouette of a tree at sunset. Branching guitars gradually fill the negative space, and electronic crackling simulates the rustling of roosting birds.
“Thunder” is intuitive and complex, but it offers a glimpse into new horizons.Timothy improvised the song in a single take while he was an electronic producer in London Fauzia Helmed effects pedal in real time. Timothy leaves some of his signature tropes to explore the more abstract forms that bounce through FAUZIA’s delays and filters. boldly staccato places, Nala Sinefro‘s spaceiest ambient jazz, it feels like a real conversation, a free-flowing give and take between two friends. This time, the sense of place is purely virtual, as sheets of hammering chords and buzzing electronic sounds mimic the title’s thunderclap. This song is a perfect example of Timothy’s rewarding work. Relatable, immediacy, ambitious yet easy to connect with. Whether solo or collaborative, sitting in front of a Steinway, or pressing a Zoom recorder against a tree, Timothy’s musical voice is as unique as ever.