Jens Harald Bratlie's Vers la Lumiere from 2L Recordings

"I noticed you were playing some piano music before. It was...very different."

"Uh, er, yeah...that was something I have in for review..."

"No, no. I liked it. Could you play it again?"

Have you ever watched a horror film or a thriller where the shocks and surprises are few and far between, which increases their impact? Now imagine that concept applied to music, where you listen to a substantial chunk of music, ten minutes or twenty minutes or more, and then the entire piece gets knocked over on its side and takes your breath away. That's what happens in the latest release from 2L Recordings, Vers la Lumiere. This album takes solo piano works from Antonio Bilbalo, Franz Liszt and Olivier Messaien--all performed by Jens Harald Bratlie--and juxtaposes them with brief interludes of electroacoustic tones and sounds from his son David Bratlie.

Okay, maybe I should have said "spoiler alert." If you go into this album blind as I did, it's quite a rush to hit that first wave of electronic tones. It sounds, and feels, like the floor disappears beneath you. Once you regain your footing, you wait for the next wave. It comes later than you think, adding to the suspense.

Lest you think this is some parlor trick, it's not. The idea of the juxtaposition of the piano and the "electroacoustic transitions" supports the theme suggested by the title--"darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that." (That's a quote, of course, from Martin Luther King, Jr.) Bratlie & Son use that idea as a springboard into the nature of artistic expression, and how a musician needs to plunge into contemporary sound in order to re-evaluate history.

What makes this such an effective exercise (which inspired the conversation above, with a friend) is the focus and depth of the piano pieces and how those qualities demand such rigid and consuming dedication from the pianist. The program choices are varied to add yet another layer. Bilbalo's "La Notte" chronicles a night of loneliness and despair and therefore prompts you into darkness. Lizst's "Vallee d'Olbermann" comes straight from the heart of the Romantic Era and sweeps you back into the light, where you can experience the healing power of sheer beauty. The two Messiaen pieces, both from "Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus," are more manic and tinged with madness; in a way they encapsulate the flood of opposing emotions that come before while clawing at the walls of the frontier.

Punctuating each piece, of course, are those astonishing electronic sounds that act as the hand that shakes your shoulder and wakes you up. Allow yourself to absorb them, to be surprised by their appearance, and perhaps you'll experience those same epiphanies about dream states you might have felt the first time your watched the David Lynch film Mulholland Drive. There's a sublime, private cluster of feelings that gets disturbed when you ponder the nature of sleep, which of course is another realm where the differences between light and darkness get resolved.

Trenner & Friedl sneak peek at CES

I just grabbed these images from Dan Muzquiz of Blackbird Audio, who is busy setting up his room at the Venetian for the 2010 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. The first image above is of the super tweeter used in Trenner & Friedl's top of the line speaker, Duke, which is receiving its debut at the show. It's a nice close-up shot of the tweeter, and that giant diamond (it's actually a crystal) aids in dispersing the highs throughout the room in a consistent manner. But wait...this isn't on the Duke. It's actually sitting on top of MY speakers, the tiny ART monitors! I can't wait to hear how this wild-looking super-tweeter enhances the performance of the ARTs.

The second photo, below, is the Dukes fully set up. Dan has already been listening to these during the set up process, and he feels that the Dukes will be the talk of the Venetian. As you can see, they're hooked up to a pair of Rowland Research monoblocks and ready to go.

I'll be flying out early tomorrow morning, and hopefully I'll be able to post my impressions of CES in a timely manner.

CES 2011...yep, I'm going!

It's been three years since I've attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but I'll be there starting Thursday. This is actually my seventh or eighth CES, and I always have a great time. I have learned a few things over the years that I'll share with you:

1. Wear comfortable shoes. The biggest foot blister I've ever suffered was at the conclusion of Day 1 at the 2007 CES. It was monstrous, and I was crippled for the rest of the show. In other words, this is not the time to break in those new Italian boots.

2. Bring your own car or rent one. Las Vegas cabbies jack up their rates for CES. The only time I used taxis for getting back and forth between the venues and my hotel, I wound up spending more on cab fare than my lodging.

3. Kobe steak burgers at the Burger Bar between Luxor and Mandalay Bay. Enough said.

4. Bring plenty of business cards. PLENTY. I had new ones made up. They're very cool.

5. Pay attention to your surroundings. One wrong turn and you'll be in the middle of that porn industry convention next door. Not that that's a bad thing. I've done it. I admit it.

6. Finally, have fun. CES has a reputation for being all-business and not quite as fun as other audio shows such as RMAF. But I know too many people in the industry who are completely stressed out right now about the whole CES thing. Let's relax, listen to some music and enjoy each others' company. And if a few checks are signed and handed over, that's icing on the cake!