Torso by Phondupe
Sydney multi-hyphenate Phondupe returns on August 30 with the new full length album, “Torso”
To those familiar with Phondupe's catalogue to date, this new body of softly spoken minimalist piano works may feel as though it is at sonic odds with the layered electronica and hyperactive sonic landscapes that enamoured early fans of his work.
Torso presents a refreshing evolution of the artist’s established oeuvre, while avoiding the starchy academia and/or sentimentality that “neo-classical” piano can so often descend into.
Over eight tracks, Rich Lucano's insightful explorations of texture, dynamics, and harmony are filtered through a considered restraint; detailed tactile piano compositions are couched in fuzzy silence, delicate motifs and unbridled heart.
Hypnotising as they are a punch-to-the-guts, the takes are raw in both aesthetic and emotion. Attempting to capture a singular somatic energy as it passes through the body, with each composition, Torso evokes a transcendental immediacy.
Says Phondupe:
“It’s very easy to hide amongst layers of sound, and at some point I realised it’s difficult to be musically honest when there are so many places to hide.
In stripping everything back, this project presented a new challenge; how to express exactly where I’m at, in any given moment, in the least amount of notes.
I had to stop myself from adding synths, soundscapes, or any of the usual layers. And with that I realised, I just didn’t have the technique to express myself the way I wanted to.
I put out a call on Instagram back in 2020 and discovered a piano teacher who became my mentor, breaking the technique I was raised on, to allow me to really get to the heart of what I’m feeling, and communicate that through the piano.
Your journey with any instrument is never one with a clear summit, and I don’t think I’ve reached it, if it even exists - but ultimately this experiment of getting out of my head - away from screens - and into my body, feels like it has woven a new thread of emotional awareness into my music”.
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Phondupe has supported the likes of Jon Hopkins and Kiasmos (Òlafur Arnalds & Janus Rasmussen), influences that seep through the record, in its Arvo-Pärt-like simplicity, alongside the meditative shades of Keith Jarrett and Charlemagne Palestine.
During the years of their conception, many of the tracks from Torso have found their way into the world via live installations and ambient performances by Phondupe at the likes of The Art Gallery of NSW and The Sydney Opera House.
An ever-evolving multidisciplinary artist, Torso builds upon the popularity of Phondupe’s ambient releases - Air Conditioning Vol. 1 has clocked up over 200,000 plays on Apple Music and Spotify. While ambient single Ama manifested in a large scale 360 degree immersive installation at Vivid Sydney 2023 which saw over 300,000 experience the track through a display of lucid visuals.
Torso is out on all platforms on Aug 30 via Air Con Records.
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“There is an incredible depth in every note”
- Music Dances When You Sleep
“It’s not hard to see why Apple Music recently added Ama to its Pure Ambient playlist alongside atmospheric music titans Brian Eno, Tim Hecker and Nils Frahm. Phondupe’s talent for sound selection and production is truly up there with the best.”
- Mic Drop
Tracklist
| 1. | Elanora Road | 4:04 |
| 2. | Samuel's House | 4:58 |
| 3. | In Every Storm, A Vacuum | 4:38 |
| 4. | Spores | 3:29 |
| 5. | Torso | 5:20 |
| 6. | I Broke Your Favourite Plate | 4:42 |
| 7. | Baiae | 6:05 |
| 8. | Cool Future | 4:49 |
Credits
Written, Performed & Mixed by Rich Lucano
Mastered by Bob Scott
Cover Art by Emma Dillon Hill & Robby Bennet
© AIR CON RECORDS 2024
