"Hydratmos" the word in greek for vapor; a phase of transition; a state "in between"; a condition of change and transformation. Water into air, basic elements of our life on this globe, allegories for our body, mind and soul. Physically, the basic element of the french horn playing in reverse: condensation.
In a time of transitions in and out, I expressed instantly and in one take for each layer my feeling about this state.
I thank Bilgehan Özis who jumped in like a deus ex machina and gave to the pieces a linear path; through
"dryness" to a steam room.
Enjoy the journey!
This is a beautiful review by Keith Prosk in the harmonic series magazine:
"Elena Kakaliagou performs five of her own compositions for solo horn on the 29’ Hydratmos.
As the notes about transitional states suggests, each track is an unfolding of ambiguities mediated through the horn. “Dampf” is embouchurial breath and mouth sounds - tongue clicks, stops, and slaps, the rolling purr of alveolar trills, and more quotidian sounds from combinations of saliva and lip and cheek - and fragments of speech through the horn, whispered, megaphoned, further blurring the fuzzy line between the mouth morphologies and sound results of horn-playing and linguistics. “One who never saw the sea, but had shells instead of ears” is foghorn blows amidst tempestuous breathplay, extended tones quavering in longer durations like a distant sound does in wind, some musing on the similarities of the wind of the air and the wind of the lungs. “Ascending” is melodic clusters that alternately appear rising and circular and might question whether the perception of musical movement is so tethered to pitch relations or if it’s better conveyed through variations in cadence, duration, and volume. “Slow Trans” seems to examine when a tone is not a tone, mostly sustaining just one tone, a little modulated through a kind of phasing or pitch shifting effect, brassy distortions in overblow, and what might be a humming vocal multiphonic. And “Damp Room” features the linguistic sounds of “Dampf” though with an ululating horn presumably in playback, its two voices spatializing the room in their sound though its unclear what combination of distance or volume or maybe something else creates this effect."
Keith Prosk
credits
released November 8, 2022
Solo french horn, idea, compositions and editing: Elena Kakaliagou
1st mix: Ulrich Janczyk
2nd mix: Bilgehan Özis
Produced by: Elena Kakaliagou & Bilgehan Özis
Elena Kakaliagou constantly searches and finds new ways to play the beautiful french horn. Extented techniques,wind sounds,
melodies, voice..
based in Berlin since 2010, Elena is a member of the brass trio Zinc&Copper, the ensemble zeitkratzer, the duo Nabelóse and various further ensembles and projects. Please visit: www.elenakakaliagou.com...more
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