Let’s get it out there, we are big Max Richter fans here at FACT.
The German composer, whose works include both staggering albums (2004′s The Blue Notebooks is particularly wonderful) and acclaimed film scores (the obvious highlight being the score for 2007′s Waltz with Bashir) has also worked with The Future Sound of London and Roni Size in his time, and had his music featured in countless documentaries and films – including Scorcese’s recent Shutter Island.
Today, he announced a new album for FatCat’s modern classical imprint 130701 Records. Titled infra, this record was originally conceived as a Royal Ballet-commissioned collaboration between himself, choreographer Wayne McGregor and artist Julian Opie. Over to 130701:
“The initial setting for infra was as a ballet – written in autumn 2008 and premiered in November of the same year at The Royal Opera House in London – although here Richter’s score is given the full scope of a standalone new album. Expanded and extended from the original piece, INFRA comprises music written for piano, electronics and string quintet, including the full performance score as well as material that has subsequently developed from the construction of the album – more a continued reference to the ballet than as a “studio album” in the strictest sense. The composition resonates with Max’s characteristic musical voice – majestic, involved textures; fluent and sweeping melodies; an enigmatic and inherently intellectual understanding of harmonic complexities that compels and mesmerizes.
“Richter’s work on the ballet came initially from McGregor’s invitiation, a request for 25 minutes of music for his piece, inspired by T.S. Elliot’s ‘The Wasteland’ and named after the Latin term for ‘below’. This eventually became more collaborative as the project developed – Wayne would ask for Max to extend or alter certain passages of music in accordance with his own amendments to his choreography and concept, whilst logging the whole process for a BBC documentary (broadcast, along with the ballet in full, on BBC2 in November 2008). The dance performance was backed with digital images created by Julian Opie – observational scenes of street life, haunting and curiously balletic despite being of the everyday – and Max’s score is an appropriately close reference to the traveling theme:
“I started thinking about making a piece on the theme of journeys. Like a road movie. Or a traveler’s notebook. Or like the second unit in a film - when the scene has been played, and the image cuts away to the landscape going by. This started me thinking about Schubert’s devastating and haunting “Winterreise” (Winter Journey), so I used some melodic material from Schubert as a found object in parts of my new piece.“
“The recording of infra took place in one day at London’s AIR Studios – recorded onto 2” tape, engineered by Nick Wollage and overseen by Max – before a return to the mixing studio (Max’s StudioKino and Trixx in Berlin) for Max’s typically intricate and lengthy process of crafting completed pieces from the recordings.”
Oh, and check the tracklist. How can you not love this guy? Infra is out on July 19, on vinyl, CD and digital.
infra tracklist:
1. infra 1
2. journey 1
3. infra 2
4. infra 3
5. journey 2
6. infra 4
7. journey 3
8. journey 4
9. journey 5
10. infra 5
11. infra 6
12. infra 7
13. infra 8