Joseph Petric - Seen [Redshift Records]

Put out on the circuit via the Canadian imprint that is Redshift Records on August 12th, 2k22 is "Seen", the latest album by Canadian accordionist Joseph Petric who actually released his very first longplayer as far back as 1987 according to Discogs. Tackling a total of six contemporary compositions by the likes Torbjörn Lundquist, Robert May, his very own collaborative work with David Jaeger, the three movement strong title piece "Seen" by Norbert Palej and others over the course of 72+ minutes we see Joseph Petric delivering a well astounding and dramatic solo performance which might baffle many that have perceived the accordion only in a maritime tradition or in a context of music from the Balkan or Eastern European regions of the world. In stark contrast to that especially the opening piece "Spirit Cloud" reveals a score'esque, explorative and almost organ-like quality of the instrument which is here paired with retrofuturist electronic textures whereas bits like "Seen Mvt 1- Vision Of St. Margaret Mary Alcoque" dabble with the instruments inherent melancholia which also made it a favorite amongst Dark Ambient producers like Kallabris which are no strangers to hiding hints of accordion textures deeply with their brooding, emotional pieces, "Fadensonnen" gets as tender and all embracing as things can get, even though the tune brings on dramatic build ups and dynamic emotional changes whilst "Leviathian" turns out to be as gargantuan, eldritch and somewhat fear-inducing as its name implies just to deeper examine a few pieces on this album to lay out the overall course of Joseph Petric's newest release here. If you haven't considered the accordion to be an instrument speaking to you so far this album might well change your perspective.

Album artwork on Instagram!