Having honed her chops with Antony & the Johnsons and Rasputina, Vancouver-born (and New York-based) cellist Julia Kent is striking out on her own with her third solo full-length. Entitled Character, it's due out March 4 through Leaf.
Kent recorded Character alone at home and further developed the layering techniques that she explored on her past solo work. It features cello accompanied by found sounds and field recordings.
"Incorporated sounds are important," Kent said in a statement. "They contrast and complement the cello, my primary instrument, and also evoke the concept of a voice without being, literally, a voice. So I used a lot of found and processed sounds to try to achieve that: from matches being struck, to wineglasses, to the sound of pen on paper, to an ancient autoharp that, over time, ended up being detuned in a way that created an amazing sonority."
There are also elements of looping in Character, the title of which is inspired by the notion that a person is a character within his or her own life story.
"I ended up thinking about the process of life," she said. "How sometimes a narrative in fiction is meant to mirror the chronology of human life, and how our lives, in a way, can resemble works of fiction, but without the possibility of controlling the outcome the way an author can."
Character will be available on CD and LP, as well as digitally. See the cover art above and the tracklist below. Hear her previous solo releases at the bottom of the page.
Character:
1. Ebb
2. Transportation
3. Flicker
4. Tourbillon
5. Fall
6. Kingdom
7. Only Child
8. Intent
9. Salute
10. Nina and Oscar
Kent recorded Character alone at home and further developed the layering techniques that she explored on her past solo work. It features cello accompanied by found sounds and field recordings.
"Incorporated sounds are important," Kent said in a statement. "They contrast and complement the cello, my primary instrument, and also evoke the concept of a voice without being, literally, a voice. So I used a lot of found and processed sounds to try to achieve that: from matches being struck, to wineglasses, to the sound of pen on paper, to an ancient autoharp that, over time, ended up being detuned in a way that created an amazing sonority."
There are also elements of looping in Character, the title of which is inspired by the notion that a person is a character within his or her own life story.
"I ended up thinking about the process of life," she said. "How sometimes a narrative in fiction is meant to mirror the chronology of human life, and how our lives, in a way, can resemble works of fiction, but without the possibility of controlling the outcome the way an author can."
Character will be available on CD and LP, as well as digitally. See the cover art above and the tracklist below. Hear her previous solo releases at the bottom of the page.
Character:
1. Ebb
2. Transportation
3. Flicker
4. Tourbillon
5. Fall
6. Kingdom
7. Only Child
8. Intent
9. Salute
10. Nina and Oscar
