"When the London jazz festival ran online only in 2020, an enthralling livestreamed performance by Swiss harpist Julie Campiche's avant-jazz ensemble was a startling highlight, introducing UK audiences to a virtuoso instrumentalist and composer who was already turning heads in Europe. Campiche plucked guitar, zither and east Asian-style sounds from the harp, mingled with vocal loops, classical music, Nordic ambient jazz and more. You might call her soundscape magical or otherworldly if it didn't coexist with a campaigner's political urgency on environmental and social issues."
"But Campiche is too much of a visionary to overwhelm the eloquence of pure sound with polemic, as her new album, the unaccompanied Unspoken, confirms more than ever. The artwork for Unspoken by Julie Campiche Campiche's extra-musical agenda here is a celebration of sisterhood, dedicated to women in public and private lives who have inspired her. The opening Anonymous is built around a Virginia Woolf quote for most of history, anonymous' was a woman repeated by a chorus of women's voices in different languages."
A 2020 livestream introduced Julie Campiche's avant-jazz harp approach, blending guitar, zither and east Asian-style tones with vocal loops, classical elements and Nordic ambient jazz. The Unspoken album is unaccompanied and frames harp soundscapes around political and social concerns without resorting to polemic. The record is dedicated to sisterhood and individual women who inspired Campiche. Tracks include Anonymous, built around a Virginia Woolf line and layered female voices in multiple languages; Griselidis Real, with lyrical harp and pavement-like footsteps; Rosa, for migrant workers; Andrea Bescond, a rhythm-shifting tribute; and Maman du Ciel, using breath as rhythm.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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