Fragments by JOHANNES MALFATTI

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Composer Johannes Malfatti returns to LINE with a beautiful new piano work. His previous work for church organs, 'In the Glow of Distant Fires' (LINE_144) was released on LINE in 2023.

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'Fragments' was composed for the first act of 'The Day I Became a Cloud', a dance work by choreographer Emanuele Soavi, which premiered in September 2023 at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. The performance unfolded in front of Henri Matisse’s three monumental canvases from 'The Unfinished Dance', with four performers moving through a series of nine dance miniatures.

At the heart of the composition is a sharp, two-note piano dissonance that serves as the foundation for the musical development. This motif is repeated and permutated throughout, continuously shifting in scale, expanding and contracting as the piece evolves.

The piano’s sound is processed through multiple chains of modular synthesizers and digital effects, extracting its spectral and harmonic essence. As the piece progresses, the voids between the motif’s reiterations become animated, gradually dissolving the crystalline piano texture into a soft, hovering presence.

Conceptually, 'Fragments' explores the relationship between two seemingly incompatible forces. It delves into themes of transformation, entropy, and the resolution of maximal dissonance. These opposing elements do not remain separate but gradually dissolve into one another, creating a sense of convergence and subtle unity.

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For listeners who enjoy the sparse lingering acoustic tension of works by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jürg Frey, and Morton Feldman.

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Johannes Malfatti is a composer, pianist, drummer and sound designer from Berlin.

He works as composer for film and theatre, releases solo work and is as part of several music projects most notably with long standing collaborator Olivier Alary. With Alary he has released the joined album “u,i” on 130701 and has been part of his project ensemble (FatCat Records) since 2003.

His solo work is informed by Post-Minimalism, Ambient and Experimental Music, often combining acoustical and electronic elements to create rich and slowly moving sonic environments. He has seen releases on labels such as 130701, FatCat Records, One little Indian, Glacial Movements, Seikomart, WMF Records and Deco.

Since graduating from Filmuniversity Babelsberg with a degree in Sound Design for Audio-Visual Media, he has composed soundtracks for dozens of international feature films and stage productions ranging in style from electronic music to orchestral composition.

His collaborations include artists, musicians and choreographers such as Yair Elazar Glotman, Soundwalk Collective, Björk, Octet, Cat Power, Emanuele Soavi, Christoph Winkler, Jeff Wood, Laurie Young, Kodac Ko, Arno Coenen, Pfadfinderei, Benny Nemer, Candice Breitz, Jim Rakete and film directors such as Laura Poitras, Yung Chang, Guy Édoin, Maxim Giroux and Robert Guédiguian a.o.

johannesmalfatti.com

Richard Chartier's LINE publishes editions documenting compositional & installation works by international sound artists & composers exploring the aesthetics of minimalism.

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