Julien Pontvianne / Abhra - Seven Poems On Water [Onze Heures Onze 043]

Released via the French Jazz imprint that is Onze Heures Onze on September 30th, 2k22 is "Seven Poems On Water", the sophomore album by the Julien Pointvianne-led ensemble named Abhra which originally came to life as a singular commissioned project in 2014 but continued its work as a multinational gathering of six musicians beyond its initially intended purpose. Now, with "Seven Poems On Water" Abhra caters exactly that - musical explorations of seven poems on this subject, coming from different corners of the world including the United States, India, Guinea and others. Rolled out over a total of roughly 41 minutes we find the original text based pieces transposed into a high pitched, ethereal and enchanted female vocal performance meandering between singing and Spoken Word poetry, backed by a tender and stripped down instrumental foundation-based on soft keyboard tones, sparse bass movements and a free-floating, timeless attitude rather reminding of an actual score approach than of singular pieces with cuts like "This Is Where The Sea Ends" bringing forward a dreamlike Ambient state of sound paired with intimate whispers whereas "My Entire Occupation" evokes memories of Nordic Jazz and misty air over Scandinavian fjords, "And Beyond Both Edges, It Is Still Raining" caters minimalist, yet emotional and probably even Björk'esque melancholia whilst "Birds Are Taught By The Snow" indulges in the deepest, yet most stripped down Post-PostRock x Future Jazz fusion you might stumble upon in 2k22 just to name a few. Go check.

Album artwork on Instagram!