INTRODUCTION BY CHRISTINE IN SOM, April 2021 :
« Rather than an evocation of death as we could imagine, the album “Time To Die” is to me more a reflection and a questioning about humanity, and a story of humility in front of the mysteries of death and its thousand facets. “Time To Die” is closely linked to the album “Only Silence Remains” also released by Gizeh records in 2016. The album ends with the track “Disaster” accompanied by a poetic text I wrote and interpreted by my friend Casey Brown. The essential idea was to share a tribute for the conscience of our universe given over to the cruelty, violence and irresponsibility of man in front of nature, and an invitation to remain awake and vigilant in front of the outside world. And, the final note was a note of love and hope…
At the time of the composition of these two albums, I had in mind very strong images of several science-fiction films, which moved me enormously and which suggested many thoughts to me. These movies always accompany me ; they are all adaptations of novels, intimately linked and carried by inventive literary stories which reveal parallel worlds to us, always with a character who takes the role of a “mediator”. I am of course first of all thinking of “Blade Runner”, but also of “Metropolis” by Fritz Lang who influenced Ridley Scott with its urban settings, its immense towers, and the opposition of social classes within this dystopian megalopolis! But i’m also thinking about “Soylent Green” by Richard Fleisher… And in another way, of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy…
It seemed obvious to me to start again from Rutger Hauer’s monologue “Tears in Rain”, whose ending is improvised by the actor himself, a powerful and moving ending! With the last words of Rutger Hauer, the important thing is to understand that it is not only a question of dying, but of no longer having access to the Immortality which had been promised to him by his “creator”. Roy understands everything and it is a liberation for him. Like any human, he understands that learning to live is also learning to die. Life is unique and you have to live it fully because we are only passing birds… And it evokes those moments of ephemeral beauty…
I entrusted the end of this monologue to my friend Casey Brown, who interpreted it beautifully, in a very personal way from his home in Los Angeles. His voice is enveloped by a whirlwind of synthesizers, Jupiter 8 and several tracks from Ondes Martenot mixed with rain and thunderstorm… All this is very cinematographic I believe, and there are in these two albums (of a future triptych) multiple tributes to these essential films, but also to this incredible actor and very engaged man, Rutger Hauer who left us the year before, when I was working on the album.
The album “Time To Die” reveals a kaleidoscope of sensations and colors, a path strewn with reflections on the double, the reflection of ourselves, sometimes imbued with symbolism, like the rain, it could be the evocation of the flood or simple degradation of the Earth by humans ? In “Time to Die”, I wanted to express the imminence of death, revealed by the inevitable motif of the timpani. And it moves towards the melancholy and loneliness of “Brumes”, the clarity of “Miroirs”, the appeasement and calm of “Landscape”… I have written the album as a journey; we are carried away by the waves of an ocean of feelings, immersed in heavy and oppressive atmospheres, resurgences of beautiful moments of life, and also in an atmosphere of light and deliverance!
The album opens with “Time To Die” and ends with “Pluie”, two very orchestrated tracks which surround other more minimalist and refined musical pieces such as “Miroirs”, totally improvised like “Chasing Harp”, or even very composed like ” Comma Opening “… Over the soundscapes, I wanted to let the emotions free and appeal to the individual prism of each. Perhaps each piece, each emotion on the record could refer to a color – it is perhaps a secret link that I have with the world of musical colors of Ginette and Maurice Martenot. As children, they liked to associate a note to a color. Maybe also an unconscious connection to the universe of Olivier Messiaen where the tones are associated with a world of colors… “Miroirs” shimmers with bursts of light and plunges us into a yellow halo, “Time To Die” reveals its powerful black lines which appear in the translucent blue… And i found these colors and this transparency in the engraving by Renaud Allirand which illustrates the album.»
Photo by David Rothon
At the dawn of blue mornings
I’ve seen the snowy mountains sparkling
I’ve gone through winding pathways haunted by night spirits
I’ve seen bewitched woods, trees with gnarled roots
I’ve observed and smelled their velvet mosses,
Pearls and drops of dream which I held in my hands.
At the dawn of blue mornings
I’ve flown over the great outdoors and watched myriads of stars
I’ve followed the wild geese hustled by the strong winds
I’ve heard the melismatic songs of birds, overwhelmed with freedom
I’ve felt the air all over my body, whistling and whipping
I’ve held my breath to remember the sound of their wings rustling.
At the dawn of blue mornings
I’ve walked in the desert and saw golden mirages
I’ve imagined secret paths, sculpted high walls and lunar landscapes
I’ve come across wild animals and smelled flowers with mineral scents
I’ve felt the fire on my lips and my hands shaking
I’ve closed my eyes to remember the gentle touch of the evening breeze.
At the dawn of blue mornings
I’ve seen the wild coasts of the Aran Islands
I’ve run amongst the reefs swept by winds and storms
I’ve dived into the deep waters to listen to the whale song
I’ve seen the frail sailing boats of the elves vanishing over the Great Sea
To faraway places and Undying Lands.
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe
All those moments will be lost in time,
like tears in the rain…”
Christine Ott
Translated by and with the precious advice of Rozenn Yvon.
SELECTED PRESS & CRITICS :
« Chef-d’œuvre d’une experte en ondes et paysages sonores (...) entre Glass, Eno et Debussy. » Télérama
« La multi-instrumentiste Christine Ott fait partie de ces artistes qui contribuent à opérer la jonction entre le monde de la pop et le celui des musiques savantes et à faire tomber les murs, par ses différentes collaborations comme par l’esthétique qu’elle développe dans ses œuvres. » Hemisphere Son
« From portentous darkness to fragile, shimmering beauty. Eight astonishing compositions that push the boundaries of modern music. » Louder Than War
« A modern compositional masterclass » Backseat Mafia
« Una delicia para los oídos. » Rtve Radio 3, Resonancias
« While this could make Time to Die sound like heavy work, Ott's clever, spontaneous-sounding melodies and talent for spacious, eloquent arrangements ensures that a sense of beauty always remains. » NARC
Contemporary Classical Album of the Month, Rockerilla
"Landscape" premiered at BBC Radio 3, Night Tracks
« Ott knows how to forge one coherent and intriguing whole, serving you piano music, film music, neoclassical, ambient and electro-acoustic music. With her 8 new compositions, she will keep you under control for a good 45 minutes. It is exciting, moving and beautiful » De Subjectivisten
« Stunning, terrifying, magnetic, delicate, painful and uncanny... It’s like discovering a bizarre object hanging very low in the sky, something beautiful but unfathomable, just out of reach. The way I see the album is as a series of quite cinematic meditations on the theme of death and dying, changing prismatically, up to that incredibly delicate and beautiful conclusion. » Fredo Viola
A l’aube des matins bleus
J’ai vu au loin le scintillement des montagnes enneigées
J’ai parcouru des sentiers sinueux hantés par des esprits nocturnes
J’ai vu des forêts envoûtées, des arbres aux racines noueuses,
J’ai observé et humé leurs mousses de velours,
Perlées de gouttes de rêves que j’ai tenues dans mes mains.
A l’aube des matins bleus
J’ai survolé les grands espaces et observé des myriades d’étoiles
J’ai suivi les oies sauvages chavirées par les vents violents
J’ai entendu les chants mélismatiques des oiseaux éperdus de liberté
J’ai senti sur mon corps l’air qui sifflait et fouettait
J’ai retenu mon souffle pour garder en mémoire le son du froissement de leurs ailes.
A l’aube des matins bleus
J’ai marché pieds nus dans le désert et aperçu des mirages dorés
J’ai imaginé des routes secrètes, des murailles sculptées et des paysages lunaires
J’ai croisé des animaux sauvages et respiré des fleurs aux senteurs minérales
J’ai senti le feu sur mes lèvres et mes mains trembler
J’ai fermé les yeux pour garder en mémoire les caresses de la brise du soir.
A l’aube des matins bleus
J’ai vu les côtes sauvages des Îles d’Aran
J’ai couru au hasard des récifs balayés par les vents
J’ai plongé dans les eaux profondes pour écouter le chant des baleines
J’ai vu les barques frêles et scintillantes des elfes disparaître sur les eaux calmes
Et s’en aller vers des contrées lointaines et les Terres Immortelles.
« I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe
All those moments will be lost in time,
like tears in the rain…»
« A l'aube des matins bleus » // écrit par Christine Ott en mars 2020 // accompagne l'édition limitée de « Time to Die » (épuisé) // https://gizehrecords.com/products/christine-ott-time-to-die
TIME TO DIE
2021
Vinyl / CD / Digital / Streaming
1. Time to Die
2. Brumes
3. Landscape
4. Chasing Harp
5. Horizons Fauves
6. Comma Opening
7. Miroirs
8. Pluie
• • •
Blue Vinyl, CD, Digital - Gizeh Records
All music composed by Christine Ott
Christine Ott — Harp, Vocals, Piano, Ondes Martenot, Jupiter8, Percussions, Timpani, Tubular bells, Monotron, Vibraphone / Mathieu Gabry — Mellotron, Keyboards, Vibraphone, Effects, Processing and Arrangements on 1,4,5,8 / Casey Brown — Spoken Voice on 1
Recorded in Serpentine Studio Strasbourg, Conservatoire de Strasbourg & Musée Würth Erstein from 2012 to 2019 / Mixed by Benoit Burger in Spring 2020 / Mastered by Lawrence English / Artwork by Renaud Allirand / Layout by Richard Knox at Dark Peak Press / Limited Numbered Vinyl Edition includes the piano score of "Miroirs", transcribed by Rémi Zeller / Gizeh Records, April 9th 2021
