John Luther Adams is preparing a new release, following the release of his memoir Silences So Deep in December–the thematically related Arctic Dreams, forthcoming on Cold Blue Music this spring. The album is beautifully performed by Synergy Vocals, and was recorded and mixed by Dubway lead engineer Nathaniel Reichman (a longtime collaborator of Adams’), with assistant vocal editing by studio engineer Keenan DuBois.
The composer writes,
This was the first music I composed in my ‘aeolian’ sound world, which grew out of my experiences listening to wind harps on the tundra. As in several of my later string quartets, all the sounds are produced by natural harmonics and open strings. . . . Extensive retuning of the strings is employed.
The sung text is a series of ‘Arctic Litanies,’ composed of the names of Arctic places, plants, birds, weather, and the seasons, in the languages of the Iñupiat (Alaska Inuit) and Gwich’in (Athabascan) peoples of Alaska.
Arctic Dreams is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend Barry Lopez, and is titled after one of his greatest books.
The album will be available at Cold Blue Music (link above) as well as through digital stores this spring.
You can listen to or purchase Adams’ previous release, the towering, collected trilogy of Become albums (also mixed by Reichman)–Become River, Become Ocean, and Become Desert–at the artist’s Bandcamp page, in stereo, 5.1 surround, and Dolby Atmos surround formats.
