Aptly lifted from Knoxville, the Southern city that plays host to the Big Ears Festival each year, “Antonia” is a brief snapshot of a one-off live performance that brought together experimental heavyweights Christian Fennesz, David Daniell and Tony Buck in 2009. Fennesz is perhaps the most recognizable name of the three, a burgeoning icon in the ambient-music community who topped a handful of 2008 year-end lists with Black Sea, an album that introduced many to his characteristically brilliant soundscape work. This shouldn’t detract from his collaborators, though, who have been well-known for decades in experimental and underground jazz circles, respectively. On “Antonia,” their joint pedigrees are on powerful display. A wave of glacially treated sound ebbs and flows over sparse, slinky guitars, all underpinned by cymbal-based scattered percussion. Despite the brevity of the track, its effect is seductive, illuminating the singular way that slow-moving, texture-based music can move us to places where words are no more than an afterthought. Knoxville arrives August 24 via Thrill Jockey.
“Antonia” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/Antonia.mp3
