Kate Moore - Ridgeway [Unsounds 075]

Put out on the circuit on May 15th, 2k23 via Unsounds as the labels cat.no. 075 is "Ridgeway", the most recent collection of commissioned works written by Kate Moore in the sixteen years period between 2003 and 2019. Presenting a total of six pieces rolled out over the course of almost 74 minutes playtime we see Kate Moore conceptually dealing with what the composer herself describes as '...the eeriness of the landscape...' which includes the prehistoric giant white horse of Uffington, an ancient landmark in the area Kate Moore grew up in as a child. This being said, Moore's compositions featured on "Ridgeway", starting with the title track of the same name, bring forward an emotionally touching, yet dramatic take on melancholia embedded in an almost folksy setting of Contemporary Classical music which later turns towards the kind of suspense one would rather expect in a classic psycho horror flic whereas "101" builds tension from layered, ever intensifying piano and string movements before the solo piano piece that is "Prelude" goes full on romanticism in its cascading, dynamic elegance. Furthermore "Sliabh Beagh" continues on a, yet more subdued and tender, solo piano path which works its way up toward a major climax that could be, if looped, well fit in to an emulation of ecstatic 90s Trance music whilst the "Bushranger Psychodrama" opens with ethereal, yet brittle strings before the wide range panorama of this piece finally fully unfolds whereas the concluding "The Dam" amalgamates rural Nordic Folk vibes and thundering Classical techniques in a most fascinating manner and even introduces almost an Opera-like vocal performance for a closing, being the sole composition on this entire album to employ the wide ranged possibilites of the human voice. Well interesting, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!