angharad davies duo

Angharad Davies Duo

KM28, Berlin - by Cristina Marx / photomusix, 2024

Violin and saxophone duets emerge from small cracks in the surface of the earth on Two Seasons, Angharad Davies and John Butcher entwining two quite different sonic fields with methodic precision. There’s something organic about their tonal excursions, fleeting moments captured and flickering spectacles drawn out into breath and fracture. Extended techniques hang in dead air, wondering if they should fall apart, each musician listening so intently that silence becomes as vital as sound. The duo creates intimate sonic exchanges where a single note or gesture can redirect an entire passage, a testament to years of crossing paths and understanding each other’s musical language.
Foxy Digitalis - Brad Rose

Angharad Davies and John Butcher’s musical paths have been crossing since the early 2000s, most often in the large group Common Objects (with Lee Patterson, Pat Thomas, Rhodri Davies and Lina Lapelyte).
Duo playing is comparatively recent and has become a valued project for them both since the release of their CD “Two Seasons".

In her liner notes, Louise Gray writes:
Both bring their virtuosity to entwine together two quite different sonic fields. The balance Butcher and Davies achieve is one of space-describing elegance.
Butcher’s breathy sax explorations move from a richly tonal line to a searching, ragged edginess that lick the contours of the room. Davies is similarly expansive in her approach: a tiny spangle of sound will suddenly curve the unfolding piece into new territory.
Lyric lines and pulses from each musician testify to an electric state of listening and response.

Two Seasons

CD/DL