Golden Apples of the Sun

Suzanne Ciani & Jonathan Fitoussi

This album dropped on the 6th (Friday). Previously, the first track, the title track had been released. It’s a rendition of Yeats’s poem, “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” from which Morton Subotnick drew inspiration for his “Silver Apples of the Moon.” The spoken word is backed by electronics. I enjoy it. The poem is a favorite. I’ve seen it performed on tradition Irish instruments, and sung, and there were tears among the audience members. Here, below, is the embedded Bandcamp.com player for the album.

The synths are generally Fitoussi’s style of simple melodies on what sound like analog synths for the most part. Track two has female vocals I had not noticed before. I’d only listened to track two in a crowded area while wearing my open-back Focal Clear Mg headphones. Lots of interference. I’m not familiar with Ciani, though a friend describes her in glowing terms, and he makes his own synth-based music (https://soundcloud.com/matt-fagerburg).

In “Time Lapse,” there are hints of Subotnick’s insistent, synthesized percussion, combined with layers of melodic sound. I would not be surprised to learn that Ciani and Fitoussi were inspired by Subotnick, and that Golden Apples of the Sun is an homage to the early electroacoustic music pioneer.

I have tried my unskilled hands at electronic music creation. I got some interesting results, also attempting some musique concrete combined with video. I don’t find any attraction in fiddling with synths to put together something that sounds good to me. I’d rather practice my trumpet and twiddle my thumbs with my guitars. Pedals, too, just seem like too much of a headache. I stick to one or two at a time, when I use any at all.

There is something of Underworld (https://underworld.bandcamp.com/), say their Pearl’s Girl EP (https://www.discogs.com/release/10634-Underworld-Pearls-Girl), in the layering and in the simplicity of each layer. It is the combination and overlaying of these layers that produce the music’s appealing complexities.

Golden Apples of the Sun is a relaxation album. It is just slow enough that one could do some dancing reminiscent of tai-chi; slow dancing. I can imagine some modern dance built around this album. I regret that there is no other spoken word, spoken poem track on the album. “Oceanium” features sounds of the seashore, and whether these are synthesized or processed found sounds, I don’t know. It is the earth’s spoken word.