photo: Renaud de Foville
Aret Madilian of French-American dark wave band Deleyaman was invited to compose the music for the Étonnantes Abbayes de Normandie event during the cultural week from October 26 to November 1, 2022. It seems a contradiction to provide the soundtrack for something that celebrates silence, but Madilian found a way around that, writing 10 mostly instrumental, neo-classical excursions, all of them named after stars.
With a prominent role for Armenian reed instruments - duduk, tavshevi, plul - all played by Artyom Minasyan - and the Indian flute bansuri played by Pierre Baillot the music moves quietly. Each note counts and it evolves into something deeper after each listen. It is an exhibition of his composing agility to find Madilian showing his skill to create a suite of songs that can conjure up the experience of walking among the ruins of ancient buildings from the comfort of your own home.
Aret Madilian: piano, keyboards
Artyom Minasyan: duduk, tavshevi, plul
Madalina Obreja: violin & alto violin
Eric Plandé: tenor & soprano saxophones, flute
Pierre Baillot: oud, bansuri, soprano saxophone
Béatrice Valantin: voice
The Abbey Project will be released on October 25 (digital) and on November 15 as a limited edition CD (300 copies) via TT0 Records. It is available for pre-order here.
Tracks:- Sirius
- Canopus
- Arcturus
- Alpha Centauri A
- Véga
- Rigel
- Procyon
- Achernar
- Bételgeuse
- Hadar
Madilian is currently mixing the songs for the new Deleyaman album, which will be released in April.
