Problematica is an upcoming solo CD with some interesting twists from Canadian cellist+ India Gailey.  I can’t call it a solo cello CD because Gailey contributes vocals as well as some truly virtuosic cello playing and there’s lots of electronics and electronic processing involved.  There are also some unusual presentation options.  There are seven works by younger Canadian composers on the disk and recording engineer John DS Adams of Stonehouse Sound makes a major contribution.

Montreal based Sarah Rossy’s In long demands quite a visceral sound from the cello plus vocals which Gailey delivers in a pleasant but not especially “classical” voice.  It’s quite mesmeric and the there are plenty of layered textures..

I have heard quite a lot of Nicole Lizée’s music; notably RUR: A Torrent of Light from June 2022 so wasn’t at all surprised by the depth and complexity of Grotesquerie which blends extended cello technique with various kinds of vocal production and multi-layered sampling and playback.  This is one piece that really uses the resources of the recording studio to produce a very vivid and slightly startling soundscape.

Another contributor from Montreal, Julia Mermelstein, contributes Bending, breaking through which is simultaneously weird and lyrical with complex textures based on electronic processing of the cello sound.

We are told that Joseph Glaser’s Joinery was co-created with Gailey in a series of workshops to produce an “open ended score” based on recordings of the cello doing unusual things plus footfalls in the snow and vocals as well as live cello.  Thus, it can be interpreted and reinterpreted anew by the artist for each performance.  In this version the live cello seems to be playing quite lyrically over the recorded elements with a repeated vocal refrain of “did it hurt?”.  Unusual and interesting.

Andrew Noseworthy contributes the most unusually named piece.  It’s Goml_v7FinalMix_LessVox_MoreVerb_Dec13MASTERED_48k24b_FINAL.  Oddly, after all that it feels almost conventional.  It’s a sort of meditation for sampled and remixed acoustic cello gestures combined with live playing.

Fjóla Evans’ Universal Veil uses heavily multi-tracked cello to build up quite solid textures that almost sound orchestral.  Finally we get Thanya Iyer’s Where I can be as big as the sun which is as close to a conventional singer/songwriter piece as one could expect on a disk like this.  So, seven pieces not at all alike and each with a lot to offer.

Now let’s talk about the engineering which is a key part of this project and very much affects how one experiences it.  It was recorded with a view to a full Dolby Atmos presentation.  Exactly how that multi-channel capability will be offered I’m not sure at this stage.  I have a set of the ATMOS files but no way of actually using them as my ATMOS capable disk player will only do ATMOS from a disk!  What I was able to listen to is a binaural mix which probably approximates the ATMOS experience when listened to on good headphone.  Which is what I did.  There’s also a conventional stereo mix.

The binaural mix was a blast.  It really does create a seemingly 3D soundworld.  This is more noticeable on some tracks than others.  The Lizée and Glaser pieces were especially striking and way more vivid than standard CD quality audio.

The CD will be released, with a very good informative booklet, in physical and digital formats, on February 23rd and before that Gailey will be touring the works.  The Toronto stop is at the Canadian Music Centre on January 31st and I’m really interested to see how this will be presented “live”.  I’ll update on that and anything I can learn about how the full ATMOS experience can be had when I know more.  This CD is a rewarding example of how young Canadian composers and performers are stretching the bounds of emerging technologies to create new musical experiences.  I love it!

Catalogue information: People Places Records PPR050