Magda Drozd ~ Divided by Dusk

Divided by Dusk is a mysterious, otherworldly album that sounds like a folktale and feels like walking into the forest just as the sun is setting, not knowing what wonders may await.  Will one encounter enchanting creatures, gypsy caravans, a traveling circus ~ or the simple magic of fox and bear, moonlight and stream? Inspired by trips to Japan yet informed by her native Poland, Magda Drozd casts her spell with violin, field recordings, electronics and voice, with Japanese flutist Rai Tateishi entering the forest as the sun disappears behind the trees, merging both sonic worlds.

The violin’s opening notes are already reverberant, echoes wafting through the pines, caught in a strange vortex.  A hum falls over the forest as the electronic crickets emerge and the wind whistles through the trees.  There is enchantment here, and excitement, but little hint of danger.  The pulse quickens in the title track, with staccato strings and Drozd’s ethereal voice, plunging the album pleasantly into the gothic realm.  As new layers are added, in particular the tribal drums, one imagines the once-hidden denizens of the woods emerging for an uninhibited dance.

“Contrasts” brings a rustle of bells like night lanterns, a slow serenade during which time the little ones might be put to sleep, if they can keep their excitement in check, for Tateishi is about to break through the brush, a traveling minstrel bearing tales from distant lands.  After the eloquent, upbeat “Piosenka Ludowa” (“Folk Tale”), however, the tone turns decidedly dark: the point in the fairy tale when one realizes one should not have followed the trail, listened to the stranger, eaten so many desserts.  “Hungry Nightmares,” “Vertigo” and “From the Depths” are the flip side of the forest, the cautionary tale.  Drozd coos in empathy, amid trumpet tones, drones and unidentified chatterings. Dusk has become midnight, the witching hour.  And still, knowing all this, one would follow her into the forest, afraid to lose the last echoes of these mesmerizing notes.  (Richard Allen)