RVNG Intl. will release the thirteenth installment of their FRKWYS series on September 16th–a project that brings together a like-minded but intergenerational pairing of musicians. This volume is entitled Sunergy and it features the ambient synthesists Suzanne Ciani and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Ciani, a longtime advocate of Don Buchla‘s modular synthesizers, released her landmark ambient debut Seven Waves in 1982–an album deeply influenced by the coastlines of California and one that incorporates the sounds of the ocean. Similarly, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, who grew up on Orcas Island in Washington, composes music inspired by the West coast–as evidenced by her 2014 debut Tides (Western Vinyl)–a collection of songs also initially intended as accompaniments to her yoga classes.
After discovering that they both resided in the coastal town of Bolinas, CA, the women bonded over their experiences as female musicians, as well as their love of Buchla’s pioneering instruments. Sunergy was recorded in Ciani’s home overlooking the ocean, and it was composed using the Buchla 200 E and the Buchla Music Easel. “Closed Circuit” definitely conjures aquatic themes as looped patterns bubble and wash over the sonic space like waves, while warm chords radiate golden light. Eventually, though, sprite-like keys seem to dance across the surface, as deep tones gather in a slowly menacing undertow–eventually dragging “Closed Circuit” into darker and roiling waters.
