Count G’s restless journeys in both earthly and imaginary landscapes inevitably led to this unique record in his catalogue. His interest in acoustic orchestrations and atonal excursions, which can be found in all of his recordings, reaches here its most focused expression.
The music in this album was recorded over a three-year period, as members of the Bar Bliss Ensemble found themselves available in different junctures. The versatility of these young players and their comfort with electronic music idioms enables them to cultivate a unique sound that is at once delicate and ferocious, familiar and enigmatic.
The compositions emerged from disparate situations and moods, with strings and brass generally serving as choral voices while woodwinds and mallets often taking front spots. Judging from most of the titles, this is an album about the encounter of earthly and celestial bodies, as they embrace, soar, clash, and spiral down to their unavoidable demise.
Count G notes: “This is Neni’s album, about whom the closing piece was specifically written, for her ever graceful and loving passage through this finite world.”
Credits
Bar Bliss Ensemble is a group of young musicians who came together on a lark from chance encounters during Count G’s tripping around Europe in the pre-pandemic days. The conclusive event took place one autumn night at a famous bar in Stockholm, when key members floated the idea of forming an ensemble despite the fact that they lived in different countries all over Europe.
Titika Dafnomili: violin
Jens Fruse: viola
Constantine Price: cello
J. Clarke: contrabass
Veronique Nablis: flute, clarinet
Dominique M: oboe, bassoon
Maura Betti: bass clarinet, baritone sax
Igo Sigma: trumpet, flugelhorn
Matthieu Bouvard: trombone
Hive Silk: vibraphone, marimba, celeste
Nikki Halpern: electric harp, mellotron
Khaled Mehdi: percussion, noise
w/
Count G: piano, organ, electronics, arrangements, and production.
All compositions by Count G, except #6, 12, 14 by Count G/Hive Silk.
Recorded in Athens, Paris, Stockholm, and New York.
Mixed at Seaside Boys East and The Riverside Room, NYC Jan-May, 2024
Mastered at Terra Infirma
Cover by Atticus Graficas from a detail by Deniz Bilgin
