There’s something magical about the silence of a snow-covered winter’s eve. That moment you step out from a warm, conversation-filled family room into a snow-covered neighborhood can be overwhelming. There’s a deafening hush, as if stepping into your own head space; snow falling from darkness above, soundless and impervious to the everyday static and aural interruption.
A snowy Christmas Eve is even more heavy in the best way possible. It adds the right amount of naturalistic magic one needs to bestow even the most pragmatic(pessimistic) soul a spiritual leave. Whether you believe in the reason for the season or not, a snow-covered Christmas Eve will make you a believer in – at the very least – that in that moment of solitude things aren’t so bad.
zakè & Benoît Pioulard have left a gift under the Christmas tree and we are allowed to open it a day early. eve is a sanctuary of sound built on a decade worth of sound fragments and audio experiments. It captures the magic of a snow-covered eve; the heady sound swirls and orchestral swells give one the feeling of seeing the silent flakes fall as a portal of peace comes over you. It’s the kind of musical gift that will keep on giving.
Here’s the synopsis of eve: “Winter’s most precious gift is its snow-muffled hush. eve, the first full-length collaboration between zakè and Benoît Pioulard, pays tribute to the kind of supernatural December night where fleeting moments of peace manifest in visible exhalations and crystalline silence.”
Over three long form tracks, “eve”, “frost”, and “pine”, zakè & Benoît Pioulard gather lush sound fragments and bring them together into an epic 52-minute sound journey. One that unfurls into epic moments of spiritual exaltation, an organic oneness with Mother Nature, and that syncs you with that great cosmic hum.
“eve” is the sound of that first step into the wintry night. The quiet envelopes and overwhelms the senses, putting you in an almost hallucinogenic state. The silence is deafening, and “eve” is the noise that emanates from within you.
“frost” builds into bright, lush soundscapes. It sounds like an awakening in one’s own head. It glows in crystalline tones and weightless optimism. It holds the elements of a personal awakening standing amongst the quiet of a snow-covered landscape.
“pine” leaves us with a state of understated weary. It’s the feeling that comes over you the moment the evening’s chill breaks through. The quiet resolves into a darker hue, and the vastness of the coiled black above you in the snowy skies tempers the magic. The frigid temps wake you from that lull.
On this Christmas Eve when you step out from the warmth and conversation into the darkness of a suburban front yard or back porch for air, put eve into your ears. For a few fleeting moments escape into its world, bask in the beauty, and find yourself immersed in this musical gift from two masters of sound.
Complex Distractions 