Rupert Clervaux & Dania: Accio​́​n y Destino (digital, OOH-Sounds, September 2023)

This work is based around samples of a Giuseppi Verdi opera called La Forza Del Destino (The Force Of Destiny). I’ve never heard of it, although I’ve heard enough Verdi opera to be pretty sure it wouldn’t be my cup of tea, even though there is apparently a superstition that it’s cursed. (My father likes to refer to Verdi as “Joe Green”, which must be one of the more obscure dad jokes out there.)

I don’t suppose that old Joe would recognize too much of this album, with the opera tape-delayed up the wazoo, and that’s just fine with me. Although it doesn’t go out of its way to make itself lovable from the start: the first of its five continuous sections is a minimalist thing of blaring, parping, even siren-like noises, which I find intriguing but somewhat unsettling. This is an interesting choice, since much of the rest of the record is rather beautiful. Dania introduces her dreamy wordless vocals at the start of the second section, and there are also what sound like recordings of weather and birdsong. A kind of laid-back jazzy drumming makes an appearing in the third section. The whole thing is underpinned by the drone of a shruti box. By the fourth section, we’re floating off in a gorgeous swirly world of throbbing drone and echoey sighing vocals. The closing section reintroduces the percussion (albeit briefly), plus a mysterious deep bassy thrum, plus a more toned-down version of one of the loops from the start, for a defiantly low-key yet deeply satisfying climax. This is music with a purity that feels like it is doing my soul good.

I bought this from Boomkat. They call it Modern Classical / Ambient.