Various Artists - Duet Layers (2022)

The Layers collections showcase compilations by 7K! Records, supporting a range of contemporary classical music. Duet Layers pays tribute to the first editions of Piano Layers, String Layers, Ambient Layers and Wind Layers, honoring the layers thematic template, and challenging the artists to work together to find a common ground. The results of this are something new and unexpected.

The first edition to be pressed on vinyl, Duet Layers contains six duets. The result is a collaborative record written and performed by twelve of the most interesting artists from around the world, a sharing of sonic landscapes.

The release opens with a collaboration between the saxophonist Colin Stetson and pianist Hania Rani. Divided equally between an astonishing piano line, synths, a trace of vocals and the stunning melody of the saxophone. The music finds its feet in silence and developing into a new world full of sounds. The second track slowly moves into an artistic-axis held between Stefano Guzzetti’s piano and Neil Leitner’s (Echo Collective) viola – paying tribute to the slow passage of time. Following, the Polish cellist Dobrawa Czocher and British-Berlin violinist & producer Simon Goff, meet with a dark and poignant track.

The second part of the album sees a collaboration between violinist Bryan Senti, who combines his experimentation with the colorful and sweet soundscape of Niklas Paschburg, playing the piano and accordion. Duet Layers dives further into the unknown with a piece by avant-garde and legendary New York trumpeter Peter Zummo and the Australian electronic producer Tilman Robinson. The release finally finds some relief in the collaboration between Laura Masotto’s viola and the electronic intuitions of Ryan Teague.