In the impressive back catologue of Chris Hooson‘s Dakota Suite, a few constant factors can be recognized: his continuing personal struggle with his intense depressions, his dedicated love for his wife Johanna who supports him through his most difficult periods – and the extremely personal quality of his music.
Recent Dakota Suite albums were mainly instrumental, but this new double album “The Side of her Inexhausible Heart” finds a perfect balance between instumental, ‘post-classical’ tracks and the characteristic Chris Hooson vocals known from the earlier Dakota Suite albums: intimate – sometimes even up to almost painfully intimate.
The intimacy is enhanced even further because all unnecessary details are left out.
“I have always been inspired by two musical icons, Arvo Pärt and Bill Evans, and if they have taught me anything it’s that you MUST not play anything if it isn’t required.”
The compositions, written together with Quentin Sirjacq (who also performed on the Vallisa album with cellist David Darling) have a lot of breathing space. That space is effectively coloured by the string quartet (violin, viola, double bass), brilliantly recorded in Paris (and finally mastered by Nils Frahm).
However beautiful they are, these songs and compositions are not “just beautiful”:
“You hear small passages of beauty but there is always a sense of collapse and danger at the edges.”
There will be only very few releases as beautiful and as personal, as this.
Dakota Suite / Quentin Sirjacq – As Long as Forever is – Part II
“Need to make you whole again” clip on Youtube:
http://youtu.be/sgcna1fpmNI