While there really isn’t a perfect album since it just depends on the mood your in, it’s very difficult to find a time or place I don’t love listening to Deaf Center’s 2005 release Pale Ravine.
The ‘Modern Classical’ term gets thrown around a lot these days. Pale Ravine deserves it’s own genre, it’s that good. Contemporary Classical? In any case, a combination of found sounds, synthetic effects and classical instruments are mixed perfectly, creating not just music, but a magical story.
With some modern classical albums, I find myself waiting for that momentous turn in the piano melody, the deepest, most brooding segment of melancholy. Pale Ravine is perfectly balanced with each facet complimenting the next. Classical instrumentation often leads the way, followed by wisely placed percussive elements, which are gently floated along by a subtle synth fog. On top of this, samples of sticks crunching, fire crackling, or other field sounds flesh out each track to the fullest.
Yet, Pale Ravine is separated from other modern classical recordings by more than just layering. One of the most remarkable aspects of the album is the duo’s knack for morphing and maturing each track in the most amazing yet natural way. “Path to Lucy” demonstrates these characteristics vividly. The track begins softly and gently, without seeming to possess the ability to be anything else. As Lucy matures she starts flirting around that initial beauty, before slipping smooth as silk into and out of a wonderfully bassy note. It is a very subtle moment, and just one example of the care devoted to the slightest detail in each piece.
Movie score buffs will have a field day with this album, as its many different sounds and textures demand comparison to the cinema.
Pale Ravine is an extraordinary album – an epic tale seen only through sound.
