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Jason
soundcloud.com/gizeh/sets/gzh46
180g heavyweight LP comes in a beautiful matte finished sleeve with black inner paper sleeve stamped with the Gizeh logo. CD is housed in a 6 panel matte finished digifile sleeve.
Currently based in Belgium, Dutch-born Chantal Acda (b. 1978) has worked under the Sleepingdog moniker since 2006, making three acclaimed albums that closed on the ‘With Our Heads in the Clouds and Our Hearts in the Fields’ (2010) album for which she collaborated with Adam Wiltzie (Stars of the Lid, A Winged Victory For The Sullen). They toured the UK and Benelux with Low in 2011. After all this, it was time for her first real solo record. Playing in various formations had made her conscious of the patterns that we all, as humans, share in. So, she sought out kindred spirits with whom she might record an album filled with freedom and intensity, and who were conscious of the patterns we so often fall back on.
Nils Frahm was the first of these to cross her path. The inventive German pianist and producer is an intense and adventurous performer and was a perfect match for this project. Acda also experienced a direct bond with Peter Broderick, a multi-instrumentalist known from his solo work (on labels such as Bella Union and Erased Tapes) and from his work with, among others, Efterklang. Cellist extraordinaire Gyda Valtysdottir from Icelandic group Múm had previously worked with Chantal as a member of the Sleepingdog live band. And lastly, Shahzad Ismaily stumbled into this picture by chance, but when Acda and he found themselves in the same room they formed an instant rapport.
The circle completed, Acda had found the 4 worlds that would enable her to record the album in full freedom. Power revealed through vulnerability. Nils Frahm, who plays throughout the record, also took on the role of producer. What began as a journey ended as this wonderful record - one wherein the five musicians were able to find their place and, together, and with great warmth, tell their nine-song story. ‘Let your hands be my guide’. - gizehrecords.limitedrun.com/
Though billed as her first ‘real solo record’ (following a trio of
softly sumptuous slowcore releases under the Sleepingdog moniker),
Chantal Acda’s Let Your Hands Be My Guide comes courtesy of a
raft of esteemed collaborators, including composers Nils Frahm and Peter
Broderick and Múm cellist Gyda Valtysdottir – all figures
well-practiced in the subtle-yet-soaring arts in which Acda is
specialist.
Her unhurried compositions aren’t afraid to fade to near-silence, exhibiting such gentle poise that listeners would be forgiven for nodding off mid-song – not a charge of tedium, but an acknowledgement of the lullaby effects of Acda’s refined songwriting, with minimalist arrangements allowing her attractively light voice the muted spotlight. Pushed for highlights one might identify the twinkling ether of My Night or the duet at the core of Arms up High, but it’s as a delicate whole that Let Your Hands… conveys its true gossamer beauty. - Chris Buckle
Her unhurried compositions aren’t afraid to fade to near-silence, exhibiting such gentle poise that listeners would be forgiven for nodding off mid-song – not a charge of tedium, but an acknowledgement of the lullaby effects of Acda’s refined songwriting, with minimalist arrangements allowing her attractively light voice the muted spotlight. Pushed for highlights one might identify the twinkling ether of My Night or the duet at the core of Arms up High, but it’s as a delicate whole that Let Your Hands… conveys its true gossamer beauty. - Chris Buckle
Sometimes there is no more powerful music than
that marked by delicacy, quietude, and understatement. Look no further
than Chantal Acda's Let Your Hands Be My Guide as proof, for
it's one of the most beautiful recordings issued this year. Ably
supported by Nils Frahm, Peter Broderick, Gyda Valtysdottir, and Shahzad
Ismaily, the Belgium-based, Dutch-born Acda (who has recorded under the
Sleepingdog moniker since 2006) has released a collection that in
certain moments is so lovely it verges on overwhelming.
All of those would-be Aguilera clones would be
wise to take a lesson from Acda if they really hope to one day become
authentic singers. Singing in a manner thankfully free of embellishment
and affectation, Acda makes the strongest argument possible for an
unadorned style. In fact, her voice, so pure and natural in its
delivery, is such a pleasure to listen to, the recording would probably
still be wonderful had it been wholly stripped of instrumentation.
Lyrically, the songs tackle their subject matter allusively and
impressionistically—no overwrought emoting for Acda—in a poetic way that
fits the music, given that it's equally allusive. But, truth be told,
it's easy for the lyrical content to become secondary when one is swept
away by the material's sonic entrancement.
Instrumentation is used sparingly, with piano,
guitar (acoustic and electric), glockenspiel, and strings gently woven
into the songs' arrangements. Frahm's restrained piano playing is a
marvel throughout, while Valtysdottir's graceful cello playing is nicely
featured within “Own Time.” If there's any justice in the world, other
artists will be seeking out Frahm to produce their own recordings, given
how integral his participation is to the success of Acda's project, and
Broderick is used effectively, too. His natural singing proves to be a
wonderful complement to Acda's own, and hearing their voices pair up
during the lilting “We Will, We Must” makes for one of the album's most
stirring moments. Even better, however, is “Arms Up High,” a stately and
ravishing piece—arguably the album's emotional peak—crowned by a
gorgeous vocal duet from Broderick and Acda.
Only once does the instrumental palette
deviate from the natural into the conspicuously electronic, which occurs
during the closing song, “We Must Hold On.” Yet even this synth-pop
reverie proves to be as affecting as the others, especially when its
tone is that of blissful reverie. Surrendering to the song's pleasures,
one starts to imagine how the album's other songs might sound were they
to be recast in similar synth-pop fashion. Add it all up and the result
is forty-four mesmerizing minutes and a triumphant album that can't be
recommended too highly. - textura.orgA fountain, consisting of tranquil, fragile melodies, sprinkles a thousand plucked notes into the sky. In the unhurried air, they flirt beside tranquil, feather-light lyrics that speak poetically of romance and tragedy. The music of Chantal Acda is deep; deeply moving, sensitive to the slightest touch and brimming with emotion. Her music is a romantic promise; the notes cuddle up to a loved one after a long, disappointing day, barely letting out a breath as it snuggles up, close to you. Her passion for music expresses itself fully at the sound of every note. Note by note, she breaks the silence with her softly spoken song, lifting up the music on a vocal wing.
“Jason” is a smooth start, and the scented melodies become even more delectable with every passing second. Chantal Acda has been musically active for years under her Sleepingdog alias. Her last – 2011′s With Our Heads In The Clouds and Our Hearts In The Fields - saw her create another gorgeous album, collaborating with SoTL member Adam Wiltzie. Her solo album, Let Your Hands Be My Guide, loses a lot of the processed drones and instead chooses to sedate the listener with her gently daubed melodies and finger-led chordal patterns. Chantal Acda has perfected the art of the singer/songwriter. She must be the kind of songwriter who continuously re-arranges her lyrics and chords, because every syllable blazes her fiery passion for music.
“My Night” is Heaven on Earth. It is an intimate, moon-lit serenade, lovely in its nature. Every chord progression is a delicate movement in a beautiful dance. “Arms Up High”, with its alluring arpeggio, adds some intriguing notes and bright colours to ward off the nightly shade. Nils Frahm and Peter Broderick join in, but it is Acda’s guitar that romances the listener.
The additional musicians never dampen the intimacy, although some may view it as a lurking danger. In the context of the record, the instruments add a little extra depth and variation – not to mention some studio sheen – to what is already a polished album. Everything aligns to perfection, as if it were a stunning solar eclipse, brandishing beauty into the pupils of the eye. Acda’s light vocals and lambent strings shine through the darker, wan tones. In some ways, it would be nice to see a pure, live recording, just Chantal and her acoustic guitar for company, where notes ring true; a nude, vulnerable beauty, in the flesh as the instrument originally intended. Let Your Hands Be My Guide retains its purity and purpose and is an intimate performance.
The first real sighting of the deeper drone surfaces on “Lost”, and as Chantal sings, the evocation of deep anguish and separation increases, until the drone is left tugging at its nearest interval. It needs its closest love, reaching out desperate, open hands for its resolution, which it finds at the end of the chorus; the lost becomes found. On “Wintercoat”, the piano becomes the security when the safe comfort of reliability falls away. Loose leaves are broken and scattered from their parent tree. Similarly, Acda and her guitar find themselves divorced, a breakaway so rare that it hurts. The piano is lovely, tinted with a thoughtful melancholy that is ultimately appreciative. Ending on an uplifting note, “We Must Hold On” showers itself with major arpeggios that cry out the victory of love.
Chantal leads you by the hand, down her path of poetry, with stories that cling to love, enchanted by its possibilities. Love, set to music, sounds like this. Let your hands be my guide, let the music be your love song. - James Catchpole
*New on Gizeh, features production and contributions from Nils Frahm, Peter Broderick and members of Mum* "Currently based in Belgium, Dutch-born Chantal Acda has worked under the Sleepingdog moniker since 2006, making three albums that closed on the "With Our Heads in the Clouds and Our Hearts in the Fields" album for which she collaborated with Adam Wiltzie (Stars of the Lid, A Winged Victory For The Sullen). After all this, it was time for her first real solo record and she sought out kindred spirits with whom she might record an album filled with freedom and intensity, and who were conscious of the patterns we so often fall back on. Nils Frahm was the first of these to cross her path. Acda also experienced a direct bond with Peter Broderick, a multi-instrumentalist known from his solo work (on labels such as Bella Union and Erased Tapes) and from his work with, among others, Efterklang. Cellist extraordinaire Gyda Valtysdottir from Icelandic group Mum had previously worked with Chantal as a member of the Sleepingdog live band. And lastly, Shahzad Ismaily stumbled into this picture by chance, but when Acda and he found themselves in the same room they formed an instant rapport. The circle completed, Acda had found the 4 worlds that would enable her to record the album in full freedom. Power revealed through vulnerability. Nils Frahm, who plays throughout the record, also took on the role of producer. What began as a journey ended as this wonderful record - one wherein the five musicians were able to find their place and, together, and with great warmth, tell their nine-song story. Let your hands be my guide." - boomkat
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