<Swoon> That’s pretty much where we’re at with Earshift Music releases in the last twelve months or so. Always a label that has been synonymous with highly imaginative music, I would genuinely implore anyone reading this to explore recent projects by Freyja Garbett, The Vampires, I Hold the Lion’s Paw and Distant Birds which are all so distinctly unique but all wave the flag for progressive and mind-blowing Australian jazz, seemingly reinventing the rules with each go-round.
Perhaps within those creative freedoms comes a (sub)conscious tone of celebration which seemingly creeps into the label’s projects as well – whether that be a celebration of a boundary-less expression of music, the joy of improvising with trusted friends or, as is the case with Visions of Nar, it can be a celebration of heritage.
In honesty, a celebration of heritage just cites one of the album’s many nuances and intricacies that form its overall musical make-up. ‘Awakening’ presents an exquisite collage of Armenian folk and contemporary jazz as showcased through an incredibly progressive lens – a lens that has become fairly well-affiliated with Australian music in recent years.
Comprised of pianist Zela Margossian, saxophonist Jeremy Rose, guitarist Hilary Geddes and Bobby Singh on tabla, ‘Awakening’ marks the quartet’s second full-length and a fantastic extension of the ideals as established through their ‘Daughter of the Seas’ debut in 2023.
Through spirited and impassioned composition and interplay, the Visions of Nar ensemble relish the connections between themselves and the music’s lengthy lineage – from the Armenian roots that much of Vision of Nar draw their inspiration from to the collective experience that this dream foursome pull together as revered artists in their own right.
Perhaps a bigger part of Vision of Nar’s magic comes within the delicious contradictions that define them. As with their namesake – the Armenian deity Tsovinar (commonly referenced as Nar) – her association with the calming nature of water and the sea naturally works in direct opposition to the lightening and ferocity equally associated with her make-up. These juxtaposing elements also feature heavily amidst Visions of Nar’s own music – from the contrasts of ancient and modern, acoustic and electronic, intimacy and expansiveness…
‘Awakening’ is demonstrative of Margossian, Rose, Geddes and Singh’s indelible ability to pull together these seemingly disparate elements and find the harmony amongst them.
