Berlin based composer and sound sculptor Maya Shenfeld is gearing up to the release of her debut full-length album, «In Free Fall». As its press release explains, “her work exists in liminal spaces, collapsing the boundaries between electronic synthesis and organic sound as it draws equally from classical tradition and underground experimentalism.” While «In Free Fall» is the debut album, her work thus far includes sound installations designed for specific spaces, collaborations with “new music ensembles” and playing guitar in punk bands. As note goes on to explain, the new album “merges the grand vision of orchestral music with the granularity and intimacy of deep listening, exploring a tension between immaculately structured compositional architecture and the sheer joy of noise, grain and feedback.” Below, listen to «Body, Electric», the album’s first single.
While the entirety of the of the album was composed and produced by Shenfeld herself, it features a few additional names, with Tadklimp joining Shenfeld on mixing duties, Rashad Becker handling the mastering, Gal Shenfeld providing artwork, and Daniel Castrejón the design. Moreover, the album features trumpet by fellow Berlin based artist Kelly O’Donohue and its second single, «Mountain Larkspur», features a performance by the Bethanien youth hoir, conducted by Ann-Kristin Mayr, and additional production by James Ginzburg of Emptyset fame.
«In Free Fall» is set for release on January 28, 2022 through Thrill Jockey on cd, digital, and vinyl formats. Pre-orders can be found here.
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If, like us, those two singles make you want more, we have two further suggestions. First, there is a «Deep Digs» video released by Thrill Jockey featuring Maya Shenfeld that is definitely worth the watch.
Second, there is «Sine Wave Meditations», which you can hear below and obtain here in digital format. It was self-released on May 1, 2020, and consists of “two sine wave meditations composed and performed live over the course of 2016. The pieces explore binaural beats while investigating the harmonic spectrum of two different tonal centres.” The release comes with a suggestion of headphones as a listening device “in order to experience the oscillations.”
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