NERISSA SCHWARZ

With the band Frequency Drift, experimental harpist Nerissa Schwartz released eight albums, and this is her second solo work, following on from 2016's 'Playgrounds Lost'. That album was completely solo but this one finds her reunited with Andrea Hack from that band who provides additional keyboards while Nerissa plays electric harp, keyboards, and synthesisers. The result is something which is progressive, ambient, modern classical and so much more as it uses multiple layers alongside space to create something which in some ways feels almost robotic and analytical, which makes total sense when one realises this was inspired by the ambivalent theme of self-aware artificial intelligence. It is interesting to listen to music that has been composed by someone who is primarily a harpist, as they have a quite different approach to a musical score than a guitarist or keyboard player, and consequently the musical boundaries are quite different. Nerissa structures her music in a quite different way, even when she is playing keyboards, so one never knows quite which direction is going to be taken next, just that the journey is enjoyable, and one just needs to settle back and enjoy it. The harp is right at home in this context, and never seems out of place, although it is not an instrument commonly used in this type of music, and Nerissa ensures the keyboards being utilized always fit together with it in a way that means it is never struggling but instead is always at the centre of attention.

This is music to be listened to when there is the time to do just that, preferably on headphones when there is no likelihood of being disturbed. It is then that this is progressive, ambient modernist yet retro album really comes to life.

Nerissa Schwarz is a talented practitioner of that rather out of the ordinary instrument known as the harp, though not the obvious Celtic variety like Alan Stivell but the electric version, which can incorporate some interesting electronic interfaces. Her career really took off when she was added as musician and composer to Frequency Drift, a stellar band led by Andreas Hack that has a considerable output and reputation. That group recently morphed into Haven of Echoes, where Nerissa plays on a track . Andreas supplies added keyboards to this sophomore album.

Just like with her glowing debut (which I have reviewed as well), her music is far from a technical showcase, more in tune with sonic experimentation and research, textural interplay between mood and melancholy, highly expressive as its devoid of any long ambient stretches. At times, the sounds are diaphanous and ethereal, swerving into icier Gothic themes, then subtly finding balance in sweetness and serenity. Most importantly though, it is never boring or wasteful, as there is unending interest displayed, a quality that highlights her talent. The nine tracks barely go beyond 5 minutes, so the whole comes across like a vivid soundtrack for an imaginary movie. "Making Plans in the Dark" comes across as the perfect title, as a playful crystalline riff embraces a sombre keyboard undertone, curiosity dueling with a sense of hesitant foreboding, controlled dislocation at its finest. Maintaining the shadow, a solemn piano sets the tone, as a sacred cello yearns for light on the majestic "On Blackout Avenue", patiently awaiting luminescent deliverance from a mellotron and e-harp duet that is all sweetness until it arrives in earnest to a restrained fulfillment, at peace. Magnificent.

The pace picks up with the electro thumping "Olimpia's Rage", an eerie snippet that has a Kafka-esque tinge to it, the angst level raised but only for a minute. This segues into the absolute opposite the mournfully beautiful "Memories of Being Made", a composition where ice and fire seem to coalesce into one expressive symphony, where synths, cello, e-harp, and a myriad of sonic effects establish a climate of particular vagueness, a highly reflective aural voyage of the finest caliber. "Raised Like a Daughter" keeps things simple and elegant, an ornate piano and the harp trading notes, arriving hand in hand, like mother and child at a plateau of spiritual tranquillity, a masterful performance that pulls at the heartstrings, as the piece finally reaches the cradle. A deviation into a more experimental realm appears on the more electronic "My Little Polymath", a more minimalist piece that employs synths, piano, and some harp drizzles, before leaping into more subdued territory, with hints of colliding notes. The intrusion of sudden dissonant behaviour only accentuates the contrasts between rhythm and melody.

The title track proposes this same formula of simple complexity (or is it complex simplicity?), and once again the suggestive piano takes on the leader role, as a pensive, vague lilt engulfs the soul with radiant reflection. Out of the blue, a raging pipe organ motif obstinately bellows its mighty aura, before dipping back into contemplative calmness. The short "Europa Waiting" suggests a keyboard heavy wall of sound upon which the harp dipsy doodles harmoniously, the whole arrangement bathing in that trenchant melancholy that this artist understands so inherently. The finale is the most overt harp-led piece, a delicately woven melody that fights off stringent blasts of electronic sounds, the piano now in full alliance with all the instruments, in order to create this ultimately magnificent crescendo of power and glory, crystalline sprinklings amid the sinuous rumble.

Fire and Ice. Another scintillating piece of work that fans of original mood music will enjoy to the brim.

4.5 Space dog orbs

I first came across this album when it was suggested to the Crossover team on ProgArchives that Nerissa would be a worthy inclusion. It didn't take long for us to agree, and she was duly accepted, and I discovered that this was an album that stayed with me, one that had so many hidden layers and depths that it required repeated plays to try and understand the music that was contained within. Nerissa first came to attention to many as harpist with the progressive band Frequency Drift, and although she has also worked elsewhere this is her first truly solo album where she provides electric harp and Mellotron in what is a truly atmospheric and reflective melancholic album. There are times when the music is really very dark indeed, and I wouldn't recommend playing this late at night after too many gins, as it might not put you in a mood you would relish. But, playing it late at night with a glass of Man O' War Exiled Pinot Gris is a different matter altogether, and I would recommend that as an interesting exercise.

I also found that this really is an album that benefits from being played on headphones, as the listener mustn't be distracted by any other sounds, but instead needs to be taken deep into her world. That the cover is a photo of a person in woods is not an accident I'm sure, as for me this album evokes feelings of walking deep in forests allowing my mind to wander (and not too sure if it will ever really come back). Sometimes the dappled light comes though the leaves, providing some relief, while at others it is deep and the canopy is a ceiling that cuts out the birdsong and contains just that hint of threat. If ever an album repays being paid close attention to, then this is it.

German composer and musician Nerissa SCHWARZ is probably best known as a member of German progressive rock band Frequency Drift, a band she joined in 2011. She has also released music of her own previously, then using the moniker Coronal Rain. "Playgrounds Lost" is her first proper solo album, and was self released in 2016.

Nerissa Schwarz debut solo album isn't one that most would describe as progressive rock as such, especially as the rock aspect is rather far removed from the premises. Those who just can't get enough of the Mellotron should take note of this album however, as that instrument is rather central on all songs. Other than that, those fond of ambient music honing in on melancholy and dark, haunting and mystical moods should most likely find this album to be of interest.

Former Frequency Drift harpist Nerissa Schwarz goes solo on this extremely personal and original debut, "Playgrounds Lost", performing shimmering and atmospheric pieces on electric harp and mellotron. This exceptional talent hails from Bayreuth, Germany , a musical mecca if there ever was one and the album explores 'the beauty, fragility and traumas of childhood', encompassing delicate pastels of bucolic purity, ambient sheets of sound as well as darker, gloomier expanses. Nothing droning endlessly, a feeling of forever evolving and constantly billowing like burning embers in a forested clearing, the expressive harp conjures a sense of delicacy and adventure, much like sonic painting, recalling that famous Sensation's Fix title "Music is Painting in the Air"! 36 minutes of colossal bliss, Filigree moments of sonic lace as the harp twinkles in harmony with the suave mellotron sounds, this is a collection of shivering moods, glimmering sparkles, flickering light and glistening reflections, that noticeably transcends the banal and boring. Certainly not ambient in the dull sense of the term, but rather glimpses of vibrant serenity and perhaps sporadic despondency, certainly Gothic at times, with enough variance and metamorphosis to keep the ear intent and attentive.

Highlights include the magnificent "Fireflying" (I had never seen fireflies until a decade ago on Long Island, it was quite the luminous ballet!), the supernaturally crystalline "Last Spring" and its melancholic cadence, the spooky angst of "Something Behind the Trees" that could be a soundtrack moment for a horror movie and the 'cherry on the sundae' title track that finishes off the aural voyage. Ideally, early morning or very late night music, when the senses are dulled and the defense mechanisms are at bay.

4 Forgotten sandboxes