Australian, Sydney-based pianist-composer is known for his work with The Necks trio, but for more than three decades now he also developed a singularly iconic body of solo work. His solo albums offer an entirely otherly realm in sound, compared to the one of The Necks, focusing on subtle cinematic soundscapes and curious timbral interrogation. Follower deepens Abrahams’ compositional language and his continuing interest in the elusive spaces between music and noise, tonality and atonality, and rhythm and texture.

The four pieces of Follower suggest dream-like journeys in open spaces and intensify their ambiguous yet organic qualities with the minimalist usage of electronics and percussion, allowing the listener to become lost within their suggestive soundscapes. The opening piece «Costume» evokes a reserved sense of melancholy, with the bass piano meandering slowly through a wilderness of de-tuned bells and organ swells, but it ends with transcendent distortion. «New Kind of Border» contrasts a blues-like piano improvisation with stubborn waves of percussion and analog synths.

«Sleep Sees Her Opportunity» is an atmospheric piece with minimalist and distant piano and organ sounds, resonating gently in an enigmatic and spacious, sonic ecosystem. It brings to mind the experimental work of Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The last piece «Glassy Tenseness Of Evening» continues in this vein but now contrasts mysterious and insistent percussive sounds with lyrical piano musings, allowing the listener to immerse within Abrahams’ beautiful soundscape.

Eyal Hareuveni

Chris Abrahams (p, organ, synth, elec, bells, g, perc)