Winter, Gosia & Barry Chabala

Ananke

Label: Roeba Country: USA

"A real departure for me here, this collaboration with avant folk artistGosia Winter. I Became aware of Gosia through my association with percussionist Lee Noyes and I've been a big fan of her music ever since. I love working with vocalists, but i hadn't had the opportunity for avery long time so when Gosia approached me with the idea for this album,i jumped at the chance. Gosia brings her rich, intimate voice and her love of improvisation to this project, i just played some guitar (and a few odds and ends).

Gosia, as always, says it best...

"Born of a curiosity of what it would sound like to make music across the Atlantic and part of continents either side. Step into homes 6,400 km apart. Quiet moments, trams and winter; shared through wires."

Gosia Winter was born in 1982 at the beginning of a Polish Spring; her family fled to a West-Berlin Winter and immigrated to the West Australian desert when she was nearly 2 years old.

She played in various bands in Perth, Australia for more than 12 years and relocated to Berlin in mid 2009, where she has been focussing on solo performance. She writes music that is honest, subtle and myth-like in narrative. Her music has been described by reviewers as 'avant-folk', 'carefully crafted' and she is influenced by jazz, folk and experimental music.

In Europe, Gosia has also been working on a number of collaborations,such as Wire and String (Tartaruga Records), WINTERS (free net release)and now, Ananke (Roeba records, US)."-Roeba

"A slightly longer range collaboration, spanning Australia and New Jersey. Seven brief songs (about 25 minutes) and they *are* pretty much songs. Winter has a pleasantly raspy voice and (happily) eschews extreme techniques, instead drawing from folk forms and blues in a generally heartfelt and honest fashion. In the first song, her accompaniment is struck matches and a faucet, lending a fine atmosphere to the elegiac tones. If anything, I feel some affinity for the Canterbury scene, though drastically pared down. Chabala's guitar (not e-bowed) is clear and bell-like, reminding me a bit of, say, Brian Godding (!) while Winter, especially in pieces like "I Shadowed Share You" evokes Julie Tippetts not a little bit. I was a bit skeptical on first hearing, but repeated listens largely won me over (ok, I still have problems with "Nmbrs"...). Interesting alleyway for Chabala, curious to hear if he pursues it, and nice to hear Winter for the first time. (Is "And Frightened Not" a standard from somewhere--sounds like it should be...)"-Brian Olewnick, Just Outside