Tempora<\/em>, which contains all four seasons in one EP. \u00a0To listen is to fast-forward through the year \u2013 although the music itself is measured \u2013 and to reflect on the meaning of seasons and cycles.<\/p>\nThe opening \u201cShiver\u201d could have easily warmed up alongside the other tracks on Drum & Lace\u2019s Frost\u00a0<\/em>EP. \u00a0The electronic undercurrent flows like a swift stream astride a frozen bed, which is personified by slower chords and Hultquist\u2019s sweet, wordless voice. \u00a0As the piece was recorded on the winter solstice, it pairs well with VISUALS Wine\u2019s Ceremony of Seasons<\/em>, which we revisited only yesterday. \u00a0In like fashion, \u201cBloom\u201d was recorded on the spring solstice, which is a little more than a month away. \u00a0The electronic pulse is replaced by patient synthesizer chords and a sense of anticipation, especially as Hultquist\u2019s voice meets harmonic echoes, like a single flower turning into a field. \u00a0The artist writes that the pieces are \u201cmeant for slowing down & looking inwards;\u201d one can feel the tender patience in the notes.<\/p>\nHultqvist makes an interesting sequencing choice by flipping the temporal order of the last two tracks. \u00a0\u201cRiverbero,\u201d an \u201code to reverberation,\u201d was recorded near the fall equinox, and is easily darker than the other pieces: lower toned, bordering on drone. \u00a0We can understand the flip, as it would not seem right to end an encouraging EP on a dour note; instead, the piece recognizes the moods inherent in the season, which begins in withdrawal and but ends in acceptance: a flourish of color in the leaves, the rediscovery of old pleasures. \u00a0Electronic waves crash against an unseen shore; and then it is summer again, the calendar in reverse. \u00a0\u201cEchium\u201d (referring to a flowering plant) begins with a chorus of layered a cappella voices; the birds begin to tweet, the electronic chords enter, and all is well again. \u00a0Recorded on Earth Day, the piece pulses with the green.<\/p>\n
Tempora (Time) <\/em>allows one to enter where one wishes, to receive sustenance, and to remember that while one waits for one\u2019s favorite season, unforeseen pleasures will emerge. \u00a0(Richard Allen)<\/strong><\/p>\n
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<\/a>On Mercury Falling<\/em>, Sting includes a song for his daughter Eliot, observing that \u201cshe can be all four seasons in one day.\u201d \u00a0This year, Sofia Hultquist (Drum & Lace<\/strong>), releases Tempora<\/em>, which contains all four seasons in one EP. \u00a0To listen is to fast-forward through the year \u2013 although the music itself is measured \u2013 and to reflect on the meaning of seasons and cycles.<\/p>\n