Calgary's Valiska Returns with 'Repetitions'

BY Josiah HughesPublished Jul 21, 2015

Calgary-based composer Krzysztof Sujata has spent years releasing stunning ambient material as Valiska, and he's yet to slow down. Up next, he'll issue a new LP called Repetitions.

According to a press release, the album was inspired by a trip to Poland in 2014. The artist opened up about the experience with the following statement:

I went back with my mom and brother, the first time I was there with my mom since we emigrated in the early '90s. It was interesting visiting with all my relatives and my mom in this new context, and seeing how she sees and feels about Poland. We also had to the opportunity to see a large part of Poland, something I've never done before, and being able to compare life and culture in large cities to that of the relatively small town I grew up in. Visiting the Baltic Sea and Auschwitz for the first time, as well as attending a Polish wedding, were unforgettable highlights. And the long train rides were something I enjoyed immensely.

Going back home, I had this large subset of emotions to pick and choose from, and would sit down and record whatever I was keyed into that day. I took the emotional inspiration from Poland, and brought it together with the musical ideas I was thinking of at the time.

The material on Repetitions was built from a series of looped piano improvisations. The album's first stand-alone track is an evocative eight-and-a-half minute composition called "Dawn." The song can be streamed in full below.

Repetitions will arrive on August 13 as a cassette and digital download via Sujata's own new Bow Bottom Records imprint. The album can be pre-ordered here.

Repetitions:

1. Clearing
2. Glide
3. Snow
4. Lost
5. Dawn
6. Held
7. Reflection
8. Escape
 

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