The fundraising event of the season now enters its second stage, with a third still to come. Hollie and Keith Kenniff’s For LA will soon be offered in an expanded edition from Nettwerk Records, but the needs of the mourning, displaced and rebuilding are immediate. All proceeds from both volumes support “We Are Moving The Needle” and “GiveDirectly”.
The generous crown jewel of the current collection is a pair of pieces from the estate of Ryuichi Sakamoto, which launch and close the set. The first one is a live recording from Ace Hotel in downtown LA, poignantly recorded in February 2019, before COVID, before the change in administration, before the fires, before Nakamoto’s death: exactly five years later, so much has changed. The second is an LA field recording from 2015, another time capsule, a portrait of the way things once were and can be again. The artist also appears with Goldmund (Keith Kenniff) on the tender collaboration “A World I Give” later in the set, a tribute to the everlasting nature of friendship, even beyond this mortal coil.
The second volume contains 31 tracks in all, an ambient fan’s delight. While ambient music is meant to soothe, it can also provide solace. Kazuma Obayashi‘s “Reverence of Mine” is an early highlight, washing over the listener like soft mist falling on a ruined home. Bigo & Twigetti’s Jim Perkins contributes the piano-based “Uncertainty,” capturing the mood of the region as it takes stock. Ben Crosland‘s “Orison” has a similar patina; the word means prayer.
One of the set’s most surprising – and welcome – pieces is Lights & Motion‘s “When the Shadows Sing.” The Swedish post-rock artist delivers a fully uplifting work that exemplifies its title, exuding a spirit of hope. Bedroom‘s “Gather” is a sweet guitar piece that borders on shoegaze, especially in its closing moments. Two-thirds into the compilation another surprise emerges as electronic artist Botany contributes a new work, sparkling like the LA sun.
In title and sound, B9‘s “Photograph” and Neighborhood Libraries‘ “What Will We Have Left” are reminders of the physical artifacts that have been lost: family photo albums, books and personal treasures. One of the saddest scenes, played over and over, is that of a family returning to a home and raking through the rubble. These artists lend them dignity. The penultimate piece, “Fireflies and Falling Light,” comes from Room40’s Lawrence English and is perfectly positioned between the Sakamoto / Goldmund collaboration and Sakamoto’s closing field recording. Relying on the sounds of nature for solace, the piece is a reminder that some blessings continue even as others retreat. Australia had its own disastrous wildfire season in 2019-20; there is great empathy to be heard here, an encouragement from one who has seen and survived.
Many more discoveries await the curious and generous listener. But perhaps the most soothing discovery is the realization that the world cares. When disaster strikes, we are reminded of our shared human fragility. A chord struck in one location resounds in another. (Richard Allen)
