Various Artists - John Palmer: Other Places (2024) Hi-Res

Music is predestined to penetrate the border areas of perception and consciousness. In its fleeting appearance as a temporal art, existential dimensions are reflected as a matter of course - in its propagation from moment to moment, from sound to sound, its coming into being and passing away are inscribed. For John Palmer, intellectual and spiritual energy and inner feeling are central aspects of his imagination, which are nevertheless ignited in the productive tension with non-musical phenomena. His CD project Other Places is an example of this.

In those "other places", imaginary and real spaces, thoughts, memories and experiences of a composer who is often inspired by Zen Buddhism and sees his life and work as a journey into his own inner self interpenetrate. In this inner sphere, spirit and matter, dream and reality, structure and sensuality merge inseparably. The individual pieces symbolize stages on this sound journey, but despite the metaphorical connections between them, they also speak for themselves. Although each "place" is a stopover on the way to the next - just as life is ultimately just a stage between birth and death - it is these stopping points, these moments of intense perception, that essentially make up the beauty of life and invite you to linger.

John Palmer traces times and "spaces" in his works with a high degree of abstraction, piercing emphasis and bright timbres. The sounds lead a life of their own and constantly explore the polarity between free flight and ritual character.