Editor's Info
An Irishman from Switzerland – a Japanese woman from Ireland. Both stand for openness, a creative spirit that flouts conventions and improvisational creativity. Guitarist Christy Doran and pianist Izumi Kimura, both on their own musical paths for many years, had only met for the first time a few weeks before these recordings. Doran had recently returned to his old homeland for a three-month stay to "refresh his roots". These included musical encounters such as with Kimura, but also an in-depth study of Irish musical traditions.
"Glacial Voyage" is the result of a freely improvised coexistence. This was only preceded by a meeting playing music to get to know each other. Izumi Kimura, at home in Ireland for around three decades, had heard Christy Doran at a concert with Irish bassist Ronan Guilfoyle and US drummer Gerry Hemingway and asked the experienced guitarist then and there if he was interested in a duo encounter. Doran was already familiar with Kimura's recordings, including the video document of a concert by the pianist with Hemingway and the English bassist and composer legend Barry Guy. The first musical exchange between the two felt so good that they immediately arranged a studio production.
The location of this recording meant for Christy Doran an unexpected return home to a familiar place from his childhood. Doran had grown up in Greystones, County Wicklow, about 30 kilometers south of Dublin. Delgany is just a bit more than two kilometers from there. At the place where "Glacial Voyage" was created, there used to be a pharmacy where, among other things, the children of the region were vaccinated. "If I had known as a small child that I would record music like that!" Doran shakes his head, laughing. "Unbelievable!"
Such music … The album starts off brittle, even a little harsh. And yet the piece "Breakwater" immediately draws you into the scenarios and landscapes that Doran and Kimura create. There were....... więcej