On Mercury Falling, Sting includes a song for his daughter Eliot, observing that “she can be all four seasons in one day.” This year, Sofia Hultquist (Drum & Lace), releases Tempora, which contains all four seasons in one EP. To listen is to fast-forward through the year – although the music itself is measured – and to reflect on the meaning of seasons and cycles.
The opening “Shiver” could have easily warmed up alongside the other tracks on Drum & Lace’s Frost EP. The electronic undercurrent flows like a swift stream astride a frozen bed, which is personified by slower chords and Hultquist’s sweet, wordless voice. As the piece was recorded on the winter solstice, it pairs well with VISUALS Wine’s Ceremony of Seasons, which we revisited only yesterday. In like fashion, “Bloom” was recorded on the spring solstice, which is a little more than a month away. The electronic pulse is replaced by patient synthesizer chords and a sense of anticipation, especially as Hultquist’s voice meets harmonic echoes, like a single flower turning into a field. The artist writes that the pieces are “meant for slowing down & looking inwards;” one can feel the tender patience in the notes.
Hultqvist makes an interesting sequencing choice by flipping the temporal order of the last two tracks. “Riverbero,” an “ode to reverberation,” was recorded near the fall equinox, and is easily darker than the other pieces: lower toned, bordering on drone. We can understand the flip, as it would not seem right to end an encouraging EP on a dour note; instead, the piece recognizes the moods inherent in the season, which begins in withdrawal and but ends in acceptance: a flourish of color in the leaves, the rediscovery of old pleasures. Electronic waves crash against an unseen shore; and then it is summer again, the calendar in reverse. “Echium” (referring to a flowering plant) begins with a chorus of layered a cappella voices; the birds begin to tweet, the electronic chords enter, and all is well again. Recorded on Earth Day, the piece pulses with the green.
Tempora (Time) allows one to enter where one wishes, to receive sustenance, and to remember that while one waits for one’s favorite season, unforeseen pleasures will emerge. (Richard Allen)
