Piksel - extreme stillness (LABEL) [Neoclassical / Electronic Music]
- The Slow Music Movement
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Piksel is better known to her family as Leva Vaiti. She's a Lithuanian-born artist and long-time London resident who learnt classical violin at a young age, but inspired by the capital's vibrant electronic music scenes, soon deviated into sound creation and machine-assisted music composition, often blending the two disciplines.
Curious as to why such a cultured artist has released so little music, I headed over to her website where I discovered she's been anything but slack, and her discography goes far beyond recorded music. Vaiti can be found involved in, and instigating, all sorts of multi-media work; whether questioning music, movement and image blending projects, or providing music for all sorts of visual applications, both artistic and commercial. If that wasn't enough, she's also currently a lecturer in electronic music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Her latest work, the start of a series apparently, continues her thoughtful approach to music creation, but the medical circumstances that inspired the series give the music a particular visceral resonance, that go beyond the somewhat intellectual inspirations for much of her work. Whilst undergoing chemotherapy — and I can only hope that the treatment went well — she underwent long periods of enforced quietude, and alongside the existential reflection I imagine, her perception of pitch was affected too.
The resulting music is a wonder. The sounds of our feathered friends provide a familiar yet welcome introduction to the music, their seemingly carefree chirping soon consumed by the droning, bowed and effected violin, which spark a more ambiguous series of field recordings that then crackle away under the more traditional sounds through the song's course. The electronic swathes that swaddle the sampled strings also have a pleasing depth to them; tired pre-sets and overused sounds are replaced by a collection of variously playful, hopeful and more understandably stately and sombre tones that melt artfully into the ancient instrument, culminating in a cultured slice of electroacoustic neoclassical ambient music that deserves your consideration.
Playlist Companion
Find Piksel in the Slow Neoclassical Playlist.