Poppy Ackroyd is a performer and composer from London who is currently based in Edinburgh.
Classically trained on violin and piano, she fell in love with contemporary piano music and with the piano beyond the keys, discovering the world of sound that could be made from other parts of the instrument. Realising the violin had the same potential, she has spent the last few years composing delicate, intricate and beautifully atmospheric music by manipulating and multi-tracking sounds from these two instruments.
Her debut album ‘Escapement’ stays true to this idea. Every sound on the album is made using only the piano or violin. These sounds are played, recorded, edited, manipulated and arranged by Poppy herself. The seven tracks are a combination of piano melodies and chords – played both conventionally or created inside the piano using fingers, e-bows and plectrums – violin textures, melodies and pizzicato riffs and finally delicate beats composed of hits, plucks, taps and scrapes made using hands, drumsticks, beaters and small cymbals on either the frame, strings or dampers of the piano. There are often five or more different percussive lines working alongside each other.
For the last few years Poppy has been recording and touring extensively with Hidden Orchestra (Tru Thoughts Records, Denovali Records), composing and performing live soundtracks for contemporary dance and physical theatre works, and collaborating with other musicians, artists, filmmakers, actors, sound designers and radio documentary producers. Escapement will be re-released in June 2013 by Denovali Records and she will be touring throughout Europe soon after.
We checked Poppy Ackroyd’s video – Seven – taken from ‘Escapement’ and here’s what we thought:
After a disconcerting and jarring starting note, with a whip of moth wings, an old clock tick-tocks away the hours. The punctual harmonization (point music) accents this piece, taking a step away from the regular vibrations you may be used to. A yellowing violin slips in and sighs. Like a dying swan, it soon lays down its neck, gloriously and gently, into the gold rings.
The sun dips and and the swell-moon jades. The effect is calming and vaporous. Organically sublime, this track will calm a worried forehead, and create a small place for itself deep within your heart.
-© Neil_Mach March 2013 –
Link:
http://www.facebook.com/poppyackroydsounds
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