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CMU Approved
Approved: Jim Perkins – Emergence EP
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 12 June 2012
Composer and producer Jim Perkins released his debut solo album, a collection of nine piano instrumentals entitled ‘Grains’, last year. For his latest release, four track EP ‘Emergence’ (available now via Bandcamp), he takes a step up in terms of his piano work, and also shows further versatility with new pieces for guitar and voice.
The pieces on ‘Grains’ could often be quite intense, and while the two piano compositions on ‘Emergence’ are clearly marked with his signature style, they also show a lighter touch. Brief opening track ‘Spectres’, sees piano lines roll over each other and dart around playfully, while ‘Water States’, the longest piece on the EP at nine and a half minutes, develops a similar idea to more a intricate level and really does give a feel of changing states of water.
Choral piece ‘Vocal Trio From Emergence’, is reminiscent of Polish soundtrack composer Zbigniew Preisner, slowly building in emotion before suddenly dying away. Returning to the ghostly theme the EP began with, closing track ‘Phantoms’ is performed on guitar, and sees Perkins apply some of the cut up production techniques which appear throughout his work, particular with folk project Ranger3. This manipulation of the recording adds an extra layer to the melancholic feel of the piece and leaves you very much wanting to hear more.
The EP was premiered at the Turner Contemporary gallery in April in collaboration with animator Em Cooper, who created incredible oil paint-based visuals to play alongside Perkins’ music. Watch a brief clip of the animation (along with a clip of ‘Vocal Trio From Emergence’) after listening to ‘Spectres’ in full here:
