Description
#pepllopis #vinyl #vinylrecords
Pep Llopis’ 1987 release, reissued by Pete Swanson and Jed Bindeman’s Freedom To Spend, offers a unique and mesmerizing take on American Minimalism. This album fills a void between Les Disques Du Crépuscule’s romanticism and the minimalistic styles of Reich, Glass, and La Monte Young, as well as contemporary artists like Maxwell Sterling and 0PN. It’s difficult to categorize this sound – it’s orchestral, brimming with creativity, and narrated with a detached poetic style that defies comparison.
The label describes the album as a “seascape” – a Mediterranean journey from Menorca to Santorini, retracing the paths of Ulysses, Aeneas, and Jason. This record is a vessel of sound that encapsulates Llopis’ experiences, with no predetermined format or direction. The music gently washes over the listener, sometimes calm and sometimes vibrant, featuring flutes reminiscent of fish schools, the sparkling spray of chimes, and the melodic synths. The record cover serves as a map, highlighting the original art and providing poems in Catalan and Spanish.
Pep Llopis’ work can be likened to Mamangakis’ expansive soundtrack for Edgar Reitz’s Heimat, blending delicate Minimalism and Sound Art in a truly inclusive manner. This album challenges the notion that avant-garde composition has to be elitist, offering a collection of memorable and emotional soundscapes unlike anything heard before. With this release, Freedom To Spend establishes itself as a label worth following blindly. The duo of Swanson and Bindeman consistently guide listeners on captivating musical journeys, and we eagerly anticipate their next endeavor.
