Cello + Laptop – Parallel Paths

Cello + Laptop first got my attention with their beautiful track, “The Hunt”, featured on the “Escala 2.3” compilation.

This Spanish duo, consisting of Sara Galán (Cello) and Edu Comelles (Laptop) have now released their full debut album on the Envelope Collective label (“The label that is always slipping in the fold of the wave”).

“Parallel Paths“ easily exceeds the (high!) expectation I had based on the single track I knew from Escala 2.3.

Cello + Laptop. As a name for a duo, it sounds a bit sterile, somewhat unemotional.
It is also an accurate description of what you’ll get: Cello and Laptop.

But a cello is nót an ‘unemotional’ instrument. It can sound almost human, it can sing, wail, but also scream and squeak. It can sound sad and melancholic, but also threatening and frightening.
Being a computer, a laptop does not have such ‘human’ associations, though of course that entirely depends on the one programming/playing it.
These two instruments seems to be conceptual opposites, maybe that’s why they perfectly match for sonic explorations like this.

Galán and Comelles both master their instrument, and have refined their interactions playing live on various occasions.
The cello often takes the lead, and its sound is accompanied (sometimes shadowed) by a delicate mix of electronics and field recordings (recorded throughout Spain and in Edinburgh).

Though the album cover may indicate otherwise, there is not just ‘darkness’ and ‘gloom’ on this album: there is room for beauty and optimism too – most notably in the ringing bells on the opening of Wanderlust.

Aptly titled, “Parallel Paths” is like a walk through a variety of landscapes, where every different road shows a completely different perspective, and every turn reveals details you had not noticed before.

Available as digital download and as a limited (black) CDR. The CDR version includes a download link to a 24 minute live performance in Cello + Laptop‘s hometown (Valencia).

CELLO + LAPTOP – REMAINING PARTS OF A SHIPWRECK