Bow & Brush – 12 Scores of Nadina Tandy
Stefan Smulovitz
Redshift Records TK548 (stefansmulovitz.ca)
Vancouver multi-instrumentalist and technology artist Stefan Smulovitz is known throughout the west-coast as a diverse musician, collaborator and organiser, and founder of the ensemble Eye of Newt, a group creating live scores to enduring movies. Inspired by a series of painted images from visual artist Nadina Tandy designed to be interpreted musically, Smulovitz has released his first album Bow & Brush: 12 Scores of Nadina Tandy. Using his diverse experiences as a multi-disciplinary artist, violist, sound artist, electronic creator and improvisor, as well as the creator of his own software Kenaxis, Smulovitz gathers together a full album from what was originally a single commission from Vancouver New Music’s One Page Scores program (visual artists were invited to create a one-page visual score to be interpreted by a partnered musician). Smulovitz went on to commission 11 further visual scores from Tandy to create this album.
Suffused with electronic extensions and additional soundscapes, Smulovitz expands his colours and expressions into multitudes of hues and textures from various sources: playing acoustic violin, viola and bass, with the addition of Dvina, Enner, Lyra, Noon, Perkons, Waterphone, gongs, and layers of electronic treatments and instruments. The result is a cinematic audioscape one might describe as “ambient grunge.” The album comes with a booklet of Vancouver-born Tandy’s abstract paintings, which may enhance the listening experience and are worthy on their own. My favourite track is Maple Seed Pods, a slow, grounded course of water drifting out to a wide expanse of light.
