I’m impressed by your initiative. It’s a mental process to compose, perform and publish music which serves to help coping with all the sorrows about the future of a society under threat.
The particular experience for a listener, on the other hand, is that this music is palpable. It hurt my ears when I played it in the night, right before going to sleep. The piano sounds out of tune, whereas the melodies are harmonious. This juxtaposition gives the impression of a prepared piano that was damaged by a bomb, instead of being prepared for concert use — with a painful effect on the compositions. It seems as if the notes can’t reach the right tone anymore.
The result is an album that is hard to listen to, but it also evokes thoughts and compassion. About such an effect in art, the first comparison that came to my mind is the film ‘Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma’ (1975): to show how terrifying fascism really is, Pasolini made a film that it so terrible to watch that you don’t want to see it a second time. You can’t escape the images anymore.
This may sound like a strange reaction. However, I can’t hide that ‘The Invisible Art of Inessential Beauty’ made me feel shivery and uncomfortable. On the other hand, wars should never feel comfortable.
The art direction of the album is beautiful. That, too, is a contrast well thought of.
