Laura Schuler: Violin, Vocals, FX, Composition
Urs Müller: Guitar
Hanspeter Pfammatter: Synths
Lionel Friedli: Drums
Sueños Paralelos 2023 - Lukasz Polowczyk
When asked about the new album with her quartet, composer/multi-instrumentalist Laura Schuler responded: “it’s as blinding as a Georgia O’Keeffe canvas, but imagine those flowing, vibrant lines of hers intercut with sharp black and white geometric shapes.” The album in question is Sueños Paralelos (Parallel Dreams), which, according to its author, is a work that explores the conflicting faculties of human nature: the rational and the emotional. The compositions are elegant and highly digressive. Affecting, unpredictable and, at times, volatile. They move between warm, prismatic, sensual spaces and the jagged, disruptive and stark. Stylistically speaking, the key coordinates on this one are: jazz and contemporary-classical with occasional rock and electronica inflections.
The material was written in the winter of 2021. At the time, Schuler was spending most of her days at the studio in front of the piano, with a pencil and staff paper in her lap. She outlined the melodies by singing them, while the harmonic and rhythmic structures were mapped out on the piano. These basic ideas were then fleshed out on paper, where she could get even more playful with the underlying math, i.e., work out the rhythmic architecture. In her own words: “I was searching for a spine. I wanted to write compositions that were complex enough to push improvisation into an interesting place, but simple enough to give everyone space to express themselves.” Needless to say, she wrote all the parts with the strengths and idiosyncrasies of each band member in mind: Tony Malaby (tenor sax), Hanspeter Pfammatter (synths), and Lionel Friedli (drums). On the final recordings, she plays the violin, and she peppers the material with texture – singing and adding all types of effects. The record was cut in just three days, at a cozy studio in Renens, Switzerland. What we hear is a collage that Laura meticulously put together from different takes. She was also responsible for mixing the record, worked on the frequencies and balance of the music during a several month long, careful process. In a sense, the studio became yet another instrument in her hands, and a means to channel her ideas.
If you’ve ever spent a day running errands in Manhattan, that’s what this record feels like. It’s intense, it’s non-linear and there’s something electric in the air, at all times. You can hear that everyone is giving it their all – they’re pushing to get through. The lead changes constantly, often at a drop of a dime, yet it feels intuitive, fluid and definitely unscripted. The analogy of trying to make it the nearest subway station during rush hour is apt here, because, to make it, you really have to be mindful of everything and everyone around you, and you have to keep up with those wild rhythms the city serves you. Schuler spent time in NYC shortly before she started working this record and cites it as a major influence. In fact, having Tony Malaby on board was, in part, informed by wanting to have that edgy, New York feel. But, what makes this music so visceral is that the band went telepathic with it and tapped in! So, when you decide to press play on this one, rest assured you will be transported to the realm of Sueños Paralelos.