A Closer Listen
The title seems oxymoronic, but Liquid Bones refers to “the transience of body and nature.” As the graphic designer Sharon Ritossa writes of her cover art, “the interplay between textures creates an eerie beauty.” The same can be said of Noémi Büchi‘s music, which thwarts expectations by jumbling genres, the piano of “In the Heat” like a playful modern composition piece laid atop an electronic workout; or is it the other way around?
In “Gesticulate Elasticically,” massive crashing snares alternate with playful Atari beeps, creating a curious contrast, a tug of war. The first four track titles form a short poem, written by the artist’s mother. Perhaps Büchi’s mixed heritage, Swiss and French, influences the refusal to be defined as one thing or another. Even the usually recognizable piano finds its tones obscured as the artist extracts atypical sounds from its chambers. If the beats seem to dissolve in water, might one refer to them as liquid bones?
Joséphine de Weck adds poetry to the closing piece, although even this is not straightforward. Her voice is looped and stuttered, becoming an instrument of its own. In this piece alone, the music is more predictable, leaving the ambulations to de Weck. The trance ends all too quickly, the closing track only 2:13 when we would have enjoyed a few minutes more. Is the brevity of the release a further statement of the theme? Ironically, while the EP may be short, it may be – and should be – replayed, creating the illusion that it might last forever. The first four tracks are suitable for club floors, a space in which time disappears. Our bodies may “disappoint the desire to last,” but the moment is made more meaningful by its very impermanence. (Richard Allen)
Tue Feb 11 00:01:30 GMT 2025