“Musical love at first sight” is one way to describe the genesis of the duo formed by Chloé and Bulgarian percussionist Vassilena Serafimova. An impromptu meeting that has since turned into a lasting collaboration, culminating in the release of their first joint album this fall after four years of on-stage and in-studio complicity.
Chloé and Vassilena Serafimova met in 2017, through Sourdoreille – a cooperative of journalists and videographers who share a love of contemporary music – who invited them to take part in their electro-acoustic live series Variations. After an artist’s residency at Xavier Veilhan's Studio Venezia during the Venice Biennale, they decided to extend the experience and continue facilitating a dialogue between the marimba’s suave tones and the effervescence of machines.
Their first album together, Sequenza, is the fruit of a harmonious collision between two worlds that usually remain at a distance from each other: that of electronic music, generally associated with the chiaroscuro of clubs, and of art music, which usually basks in the light of prestigious concert halls. But while mixing genres is often a perilous exercise, in this case it makes for one potent cocktail – one that is as airy as it is melodious.
This musical fusion, fed by numerous back-and-forths between studio and stage, results in sunny compositions, which borrow as much from the creative intuition that they deploy on stage as from the individual visions they instill into each of the pieces.Photo by: Alexandre Guirkinger
Driven by the will to experiment together, the two artists seem to explore all the possibilities offered by their artistic palettes. Their pieces are built layer by layer, sequence by sequence, in a continuous creative feedback loop between their two practices.
In fact, Sequenza is permeated by a dreamlike atmosphere that envelops listeners, guiding them through contrasting soundscapes: one wanders from contemplative tracks (“Studio Venezia”, “52 Hertz”) to dance eruptions (“Balani”), from energetic outbursts to intimate retreats. Incandescent from the first listen, the album reveals to the attentive ear a multitude of details: on “Driveaway”, the acoustics of the marimba are altered with strips of fabric, while on “Dvé Hubavi Otchi”, Vassilena's voice is treated as a tangible sound material, sculpted into an inviting vessel by Chloé's effects and loops.
The creative exploration seems infinite, as both artists dynamically transform their pieces with each interpretation. So much so that they take the opportunity to revisit their respective repertoires, as with “Mare a Mare”, a synthesized transfiguration of a Serafimova composition by the electronic producer, and on “The Dawn”, a reinterpretation of a key Chloé track by the marimba player.
Thus, from inspired covers to original creations, from the spontaneity of live performances to the meticulousness of studio work, the two artists lead us into their ever-expanding electro-acoustic universe, full of seductive promises and inexhaustible possibilities.
