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Suspended between gravity and grace Carolyn Fok gives us CHRYSALIS (55:26) - an album of 12 spacey, hazy electronic realizations. Warmed by its free form and captivating harmonic content this release easily achieves a sonic passageway into grand thoughts and ideas. As silvery designs hint at the contours of this considerable imagination we find Fok's drones and tones generating a protective aura of possibility. In places the sound is all-encompassing - with much meaning riding through the conduit of each composition. Yet, further in the quietly enigmatic soundscape of stark atmospheres and strong textures depicts a minimally defined realm. With untroubled chords inviting a sensorial and contemplative engagement CHRYSALIS moves from still chill zones and chronicles of desolation, to vigorous workouts of charged musical intrigue - all meant to hold, then lighten the spirit. The interplay of technology and human ingenuity is on full display throughout. Placing the monumental right next to the incidental CHRYSALIS provides an aural plane of shifting space and depth. It is a music meant to align the maker and the audience to their time and their space. If it stirs the emotions and penetrates the subconscious, or moves your yearnings and impulses, if it becomes easier to stare into the unknowable future, then this work has been successful.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 18 December 2025 |
