Nicole Rampersaud
Saudade
Debut solo album out now on Ansible Editions.
Purchase info here.
Since 2008, Canadian trumpet player and composer Nicole Rampersaud has relentlessly probed the sonic boundaries of her instrument, crafting exploratory works for it alone that she montages spontaneously into riveting solo performances. On her debut LP Saudade for Toronto imprint Ansible Editions, she ventures further along this trajectory, augmenting her brilliant, individualistic playing with textural electronic treatments.
Although said electronics play a crucial role in shaping the identity of this recording, it's her expansive lexicon as an acoustic player that drives much of abstraction that transpires. "Then Again...", for instance, sees a base of moist, guttural growls stacked with twirling high-register phrases that bubble and melt as effects are intermittently applied. Similarly, its her faint pan-flute-like whispers of "Erasure" that immediately catch the ear—even as dub-like cascades stream off of this primary line by way of echoes and tweaked overdubs, listeners remain transfixed by Rampersaud's exquisite command of ultra-specific trumpet techniques. Where others use processing as a means to obliterate the intrinsic timbre of their instruments entirely, Rampersaud almost deploys it like she's making a documentary—cutting between or superimposing various camera angles, crafting transitions, adjusting the tint of the footage, and only judiciously engaging in blatant trickery.
Her capacious repertoire of sounds is mirrored in the remarkably broad scope of the vignette-like compositions themselves. Eruptive cybernetic jazz splatters down right beside a digitally-botched ballad or slices through quivering ambient mists. Sandro Perri, with whom she has worked in several other scenarios, enhances the gentle unruliness of this release wielding his keen ear for mixing and mastering.
Recorded by Nicole Rampersaud at home. Produced by Sandro Perri and Nicole Rampersaud. Edited, mixed, and mastered by Sandro Perri. All compositions by Nicole Rampersaud © 2022 SOCAN. Photograph by Nicole Rampersaud.
Purchase info here.
Although said electronics play a crucial role in shaping the identity of this recording, it's her expansive lexicon as an acoustic player that drives much of abstraction that transpires. "Then Again...", for instance, sees a base of moist, guttural growls stacked with twirling high-register phrases that bubble and melt as effects are intermittently applied. Similarly, its her faint pan-flute-like whispers of "Erasure" that immediately catch the ear—even as dub-like cascades stream off of this primary line by way of echoes and tweaked overdubs, listeners remain transfixed by Rampersaud's exquisite command of ultra-specific trumpet techniques. Where others use processing as a means to obliterate the intrinsic timbre of their instruments entirely, Rampersaud almost deploys it like she's making a documentary—cutting between or superimposing various camera angles, crafting transitions, adjusting the tint of the footage, and only judiciously engaging in blatant trickery.
Her capacious repertoire of sounds is mirrored in the remarkably broad scope of the vignette-like compositions themselves. Eruptive cybernetic jazz splatters down right beside a digitally-botched ballad or slices through quivering ambient mists. Sandro Perri, with whom she has worked in several other scenarios, enhances the gentle unruliness of this release wielding his keen ear for mixing and mastering.