Composer and sound artist Violeta Garcia’s solo cello album IN / OUT lands in a space between classical, ambient, improv, and experimental music. The offering is one of a growing number where the artist records themselves playing in a resonant space – here, an underground reservoir in Geneva, Switzerland. Like its ilk, what makes this release interesting is that Garcia not only plays in the space, but she plays the space itself. She adapts her approach to the echoes and reverberations reflecting off near and distant walls.
While IN / OUT opens on a pastoral note, gently unfolding through soft chords and solitary tones, the music gradually evolves in a brooding and murky direction. By the fourth track, Garcia crafts subtly grinding drones, rich with shadowy undertones, guiding the listener into darker terrain. The following piece is in a similar vein with a melancholy lilting theme. But soon, things take an even sharper left turn with passages of quiet ambiance layered with strained notes that seem to head in no particular direction but become increasingly strident.
The album is capped off by the aptly-titled Bonus Track, where Garcia expands her palette and experimental ethos. She introduces inventive, percussive textures derived from extended techniques.
What sets Garcia apart on IN / OUT is her ability to not only embrace but actively shape the sonic qualities of her chosen space. Each resonant echo and shadowy drone feels deliberate, carefully integrated into the fabric of her compositions. Very nicely done.
