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Trees

Whim Ensemble
Ofer Pelz prepared piano
Preston Beebe percussion
Stéphane Diamantakiou double bass

Release Date: April 7, 2023
Catalog #: RR8089
Format: Digital
21st Century
Chamber
Experimental
Jazz
Percussion
Piano

Whim Ensemble musically explores Dutch painter Piet Mondrian’s artistic abstractions of nature on TREES from Ravello Records. Employing the skills of prepared-piano player Ofer Pelz, percussionist Preston Beebe, and double-bassist Stéphane Diamantakiou, the ensemble combines their years of experience as composers and performers to unearth new textures and timbres for their instruments. The resulting album effuses influences of free jazz, contemporary experimental music, and more to foster a unique take on Mondrian’s creative process and influential artistic output.

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Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Radicle Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano; Preston Beebe, percussion; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 2:49
02 Cambium Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano; Preston Beebe, percussion; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 3:56
03 Xylem Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano; Preston Beebe, percussion; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 4:51
04 Meristem Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano; Preston Beebe, percussion; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 9:53
05 Catalpa (percussion solo) Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Preston Beebe, percussion 1:29
06 Gryllus Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano; Preston Beebe, percussion; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 4:57
07 Mycorrhizal Networks Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano; Preston Beebe, percussion; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 5:37
08 Fitzroya (double bass solo) Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 1:43
09 Hevea Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano; Preston Beebe, percussion; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 4:01
10 Inga (piano solo) Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano 2:12
11 Pinene Ofer Pelz, Preston Beebe, Stéphane Diamantakiou Whim Ensemble | Ofer Pelz, prepared piano; Preston Beebe, percussion; Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass 3:10

Recorded October 25-27, 2021 at Les Studios Opus, L'Assomption in Quebec, Canada
Engineer Sylvaine Arnaud
Recording Assistant Steeve St-Pierre
Mixing Preston Beebe

Mastering Melanie Montgomery

Cover Art Preston Beebe

Executive Producer Bob Lord

A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Chris Robinson

VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland

Artist Information

Whim Ensemble

Ensemble

On the verge of composed and improvised music, Whim Ensemble (Ofer Pelz, prepared piano, Preston Beebe, percussion and since 2021 Stéphane Diamantakiou, double bass) creates percussive landscapes by inventing instrument modifications and techniques to build an unusually rich sound world since 2015. They place found objects on their instruments to explore complex timbres, textures, and harmonies. Inspired by electroacoustic music, they generate sound through motion to create musical gestures which resonate to sound as one.

Learn More

Notes

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Preston Beebe

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Stéphane Diamantakiou

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Ofer Pelz

In this project, we explore musically the ideas developed by the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian in his abstractions of trees. Our motivation is to translate his creative process into music. Mondrian developed a method of visually distilling the essence of naturally harmonious forms by recursively painting the same tree while reducing its visual components with each repetition. In doing so, he was able to uncover the essence within the intricate structure of a tree. As with Mondrian's tree abstractions, we aim to extract some elements from a musical gesture and uncover the underlying structure.

Throughout the creative process, we learned a lot about trees themselves and were inspired by their behavior, growth, varieties, habitats, and so forth. This led us to explore metaphorical concepts surrounding these subjects to create our musical works. At times we used a series of graphic scores generated from tree photographs as gestural inspiration and structural form. All of the song titles on the album have a meaning in the botanical world of trees.

The Radicle is the first part of a seedling (a growing plant embryo) to emerge from the seed in the process of germination.

This opening track metaphorically explores the beginning stages of the growth of a tree. A graphical score derived from a transformed photograph of a tree provided the way toward the musical structure.

Cambium is a tissue layer that provides cells for plant growth.

For this piece, we utilized three different graphic scores from a process of pixelating the image of a tree. Each of the musicians had his own score, creating a combined musical mass of sound and a network between us.

The basic function of xylem is to transport water from the roots to the stems and leaves. The word xylem is derived from the Ancient Greek word, meaning "wood."

Inspired by the botanical phenomenon of the Xylem, we played with the idea of being merged into a homogeneous unit, like a tree with its ramifications, all of which have a shared structure and communication mechanism.

The meristem is a type of tissue found in plants. Cells in the meristem can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants.*

We chose three different abstract tree image cards as the graphic score. The composition shifts from one card to another, generating a three-part piece.

Catalpa is a genus of flowering trees that grow to 12–18 meters tall, with branches spreading to a diameter of about 6–12 meters. They are fast growers and a 10-year-old sapling may stand about 6 meters tall. They have large, heart-shaped leaves.*

In this percussion solo, visually inspired by the catalpa tree, Preston Beebe uses the bow on cymbals to represent the wide-open shape of its leaves.

The Gryllus is a cricket that, in some cases, eats some species of trees.*

In this piece, we imagined the destruction of a tree by bugs and insects. This metaphor of destruction guided us in the research of the sound world of the piece.

A mycorrhizal network is an underground network of fungi that forests and other communities of plants have. This network connects individual plants to one another and ensures the transfer of water, carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients between them.

We composed this piece with a story in mind: that of an existing forest, interacting as a mycorrhizal network, which would be destroyed by human intervention and would be rebuilt by its own forces.

Fitzroya cupressoides is the largest tree species in South America, sometimes reaching over 70 meters. It belongs to the Cypress family.*

In this double bass solo, Stéphane Diamantakiou explores his own instrument so as to musically express this impressive tree.

Hevea brasiliensis is a species of rubberwood that is native to rainforests in the Amazon region of South America.*

Similar to the property of rubber, the percussion and double bass bounce off a continuous note on the piano. The repeated note can be thought of as the tree's root or trunk, whereas the music of the other instruments forms its branches and leaves.

Inga is a genus of small tropical trees. It is known in South America as the “ice-cream bean tree” for its white sweet edible fruit.*

In this piano solo, Ofer Pelz explores a subtle element within the piano by playing a sound normally less common on a piano, the glissando.

Alpha-pinene is the most abundant terpenoid substance (scent) in nature and is highly effective in repelling insects. Alpha-pinene is found in conifers and many other plants.*

For this last title, we have been inspired by the notion of terpene, otherwise known as the scent of a tree. The fragrance of a tree is the element that can be considered as its essence, and perhaps its abstraction.

*Botanical notions are taken from Wikipedia