Anne Neikirk - Spring Shadows (2020) Hi-Res

From the opening notes to the last few seconds of the album, the fullness of the experience in SPRING SHADOWS is impossible to deny. Like emerging from the dark, the way the album hits the listener feels fresh and rejuvenating.

The first track, Balloonman, is inspired by and built around the poem “In Just-" by E. E. Cummings. Neikirk built the saxophone melody, performed by Andrew Allen, around the tune of Cummings speaking voice. As the poet reads his work, the composer uses electronics to warp his recording, creating a sonic collage of ambitious textures all over a beautiful melody led by the saxophone.

Flicker is Neikirk’s “sonic representation of fire.” Again, Neikirk draws on the familiar sounds of a flame, the sharp intake of the wind draft, and the crackle and pop of the ignited wood as the theme of the composition. Through the calm chaos of the electronics, flutist Wayla Chambo performs in tandem with the flame’s unique rhythm, popping and crackling. As the piece develops, the music of the fire morphs into something more synthetic, adding an interesting dimension to an intimate sound.

Anticipation builds from the first note on the album’s third track, locoMotives. Inspired by the sounds of a Philadelphia Regional Rail Train, Neikirk plays on the anxious feeling of a train passing to create an arresting atmosphere. Through experimental harp performed by Elizabeth Huston and electronic ambiance, Neikirk recreates the heart-fluttering anticipation we feel as we wait by the station.

The album closes with Lung Ta, featuring electronics and percussion by Adam Vidiksis. Lung Ta is a type of Tibetan prayer flag that comes in five different colors. The composition is segmented into five movements: “Earth,” “Water,” “Fire,” “Wind,” and “Sky,” each representing the five elements. Her composition is an interpretation of the character of the elements: the fullness of Earth, the meditative coolness of Water, the spirit of Fire, the strong gusts of Wind, and the vast emptiness of Sky.