Natalia Tsupryk & Neil Cowley - There Was A Field (Manners McDade)

The Slow Music Movement
Jun 8
2 min read

*** This blog post first appeared in TSMM's June 3rd Newsletter, where you can get all the tips (and more) first ***

The cover artwork for Natalia Tsupryk and Neil Cowley's, There Was A Field depicting an abstract space scene with swirling orange and red lines, planets, and stars on a dark background, evoking a cosmic energy.

Natalia Tsupryk is a curious Ukrainian composer, violinist and vocalist, who dabbles with folk, electronica, and neoclassicism, so it’s apt that she’s teamed up with Neil Cowley, whose jazzy trio work came to my attention years ago, but who in recent times has become more eclectic, taking his piano in all sort of genre ambiguous directions. Although details are sparse this recording is billed as “music created without editing, discussion, or hesitation.“

Cowley gets the ball rolling on “Tear” with some minimal, somehow distant keys that set a melancholic tone for the prompt arrival of Tsupryk’s achingly beautiful violin lament, quite possibly for her war torn home the sorrow is so palpable, before Cowley puts his arm around her with more hopeful sounding keys. Traditional classical is then thrown out the studio window with the arrival of “Like This One”, where otherworldly effects and loop pedals infiltrate the studio, the succinct piano echoing around the room and a sampled, insistent violin motif cutting through the ambient abstractions.

Pleasing experimentation out of their system they return to more recognisable classical forms with “There Was A Field”, Cowley coaxing maximum emotion from very few notes, content for Tsupryk to journey down memory lane, possibly to a favourite childhood spot with her time warping string work.

The piano microphone is inched forward for the EP outro; hammers, strings and creaks artfully captured as Cowley, eyes closed I imagine, again sets the tone with introspection encouraging minimalism, Tsupryk in turn responding from her deep emotional well with some beguiling folkloric ambiguity and a seeming desire for simpler, more peaceful times.

It’s a wonderful, albeit far too short EP. Let’s hope it’s not the last.