Released: 12/05/23
‘Trace’ is a masterclass in sound design. Alison Chesley’s formidable skill as a cellist and composer ground the compositions with rich organic sounds of cello and bow. Will Thomas’s equally deft hand-manipulated electronics and keyboards create potent frameworks that bolster the sense of mystery and searching across the album.
Chesley and Thomas’s unique voices as composers remain discernible and present throughout the album, but ‘Trace’ is a celebration of the connection of collaboration with an acute sense of details and the power they convey.
On ‘Trace’, the duo utilize timbre, tone, and dynamics as essential tools in crafting stunning emotive narratives. Together, the duo wield sound with inquisitive aplomb, burrowing into each other’s sonic aesthetics and unearthing irrefutable beauty.