In one of the most ambitious and imaginative projects we've uncovered for some time, Freyja Garbett unveils her fairly sensational sophomore album, 'Sowden House'.
Released through the fairly apt hub of creative brilliance that is Earshift Music, the Sydney-based pianist, band leader and composer presents an album that immerses itself within orchestral arrangements, cinematic scope and vibrant mesmeric storytelling as it seeks to unpack the long-standing history - any mystery - attached to John Sowden House.
A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Garbett's debut release came in the form of the electro-acoustic wonder that was 'MAYA' in 2019. As driven by the works of contemporary jazz luminaries, hip-hop influences and a passion for improvisation, the captivating project presented Garbett's kaleidoscope of sound beautifully packaging a stellar introduction across a ten track debut.
The concept behind 'Sowden House' initially found life following Garbett's invitation to helm the score for a virtual reality experience that would have placed players inside the notorious abode. While the game never did find an official release, Garbett's compositions have since evolved into the formation of her own full-length work created with the same intention of unpacking the house's mysteries through memories attached to various rooms.
To bring the uninitiated up-to-speed, John Sowden House is located in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, and is said to have its exterior modelled on either a Mayan temple or the open mouth of a shark. Designed by Lloyd Wright and built in 1926, the house was indeed noted for its elaborate architecture, its predilection in hosting soirees within Hollywood's artistic circles and, perhaps most famously, its perceived connection to the murder of Elizabeth Short. George Hodel, a physician who owned the house from 1945 to 1950, was named by his son as having tortured and murdered Short in the house's basement. Although a murder that was never solved, the notion of the Black Dahlia killing (as it would become known) has ascended to its own level of urban mythology.
Where Garbett soars is within the album's nuance. The entire project lives within the understanding of the intricate complexity that the John Sowden House is steeped in. While the mystery elements that surround the house are understandably played up the most, Garbett also affords the house and its architecture its due reverence as well.
As defined by its decadence just as much as its mystery, for a long time the house catered for the Hollywood elite as it played host to a number of closed door soirees. Of course, there's the opulence of the house itself - details adeptly captured through compositions including 'Trophy Room' and 'Dream Hall'... And that brings us right back to the uneasy and disconcerting mystique that surrounds the house in the shadow of the Black Dahlia killing.
'Tomb Entrance' and 'Echo Chamber' remind us of the spirit of Elizabeth Short that looms heavily over the entire album and it's a thread that is treated with sensitivity throughout.
Freyja Garbett has created an exquisite piece of work that balances these various fragile elements and paints as vivid a depiction of John Sowden House as the VR project could ever have hoped to achieve. Striking a remarkable balance between more orchestral laden pieces which work beautifully alongside the more groove driven numbers, Garbett confidently delivers a project that invites listeners to walk the John Sowden House halls, confront its ghosts and revel within its lingering unease for themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment