'Aeriform' by Crush String Collective

'Aeriform' is the brand new release from the Crush String Collective.

Marking the debut album by the Copenhagen-based septet, the Collective present an incredibly bold and inspired project that draws from the elegance of neo-classical compositions alongside the innovation of ambient or free jazz.

Made up of a selection of cellists, viola players and violinists, the Crush String Collective is comprised of the boundlessly talented Julija Morgan, Maria Martine Jagd, Pauline Hogstrand, Tove Bagge, Oda Dyrnes, Ida Nørby and Nicole Hogstrand whose unified and unparalleled vision presents a genuinely sublime and wholly unique perspective.

With the album title, 'Aeriform', calling to mind the very intricate nature and form of air, the music throughout the album's twelve tracks celebrate this aesthetic across a variety of open-minded and creative interpretations.  The album's ideas and concepts are steeped within Nordic tradition with 'Aeriform' taking an incomparable look at the world around it - cherishing those moments of exquisite beauty while at the same time calling to attention those moments of (un)natural disruption.  

'Nymphalidae' marks an interesting example of the latter - although more than likely a composition designed to replicate the tireless flutter of a butterfly's wings (with the Nymphalidae serving as the largest family of butterflies), conversely there's an uncomfortable erraticism about the song that almost disturbs the beauty that it is embedded within.  And that "disruption" can either be perceived as a symptom of the oftentimes harsh realities of nature or it can be perceived as a social commentary regarding man's own disrespect towards mother nature's laws.

But then there certainly is beauty.  

From the album's glorious slow-building opener - the aptly titled 'Blooming' - we're gently eased into this immersive new world with each song acting as its own portal towards a new area of discovery.  Within its vastly ambitious and cinematic scope, 'Aeriform' finds its beating heart within compositions like 'Intermezzo I - Lotus', 'Choral II - Aurora' and 'Isbre' - songs that are brought to life by these lush and warm textures that are just magical pieces in their own right and deliver some of the album's greatest moments.   

Writers far wiser than I have in the past described music as its own language.  A method of universal communication that is unhindered and without barriers and I can genuinely assure you that if given the chance, you'll find 'Aeriform' to uphold these values to the highest standard.