if the wind were visible

theo walentiny - piano / synthesizers / production

Brooklyn-based pianist and producer Theo Walentiny has found a new sonic palette with his sophomore project, "if the wind were visible". This project uses primarily electronic sounds and self-generated production techniques to achieve a unique, otherworldly sound. To be released digitally by the artist on November 11th, 2022, this *album* and *short film* will introduce Walentiny as an *electronic producer* and *filmmaker*. Theo has always had a love for electronic music, in particular, creating music with a computer and synthesizer. Over the course of the past two years he has been able to deepen this practice and treat the computer as it’s own instrument. At the piano, Walentiny identifies as an improviser and a composer, one of his goals was to bring those identities to a production-based environment; especially improvisation. Theo feels that is something that can often get lost while working on music with a computer present — while working on this project it was important that the music always felt alive. The album’s title, derived from the last track, is meant to be a metaphor for the way we interact with sound. Wind is something we cannot see, it only becomes visible by moving things in its’ path. If sound is the result of air moving and contorting, then sound is essentially creating wind that we can see — *with our ears*. The music that is a part of this project is meant to connect with this metaphor and bring listeners to a surreal visual place.

Walentiny — who also released his debut acoustic solo piano album “Looking Glass” last year, along with composing for septet and piano trio — wrote, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered "if the wind were visible" in a variety of places he called home over the last two years. With the turbulent state of the pandemic, he was moving between apartments and living with family often during that time. This project remained a constant for him regardless of where he was living and became a home in and of itself.

This album is meant to demonstrate another side of Walentiny’s work. He is known well in the New York Jazz and Avant-Garde scene for his acoustic contributions both as a leader and collaborator. Over the past couple years he has become a budding presence in the more electronic scene, working with artists such as Chase Elodia, Stimmerman and Secret Mall. While Theo has shared clips of his electronic work online, this project marks the first time he is formally introducing this other side of his artistic identity. His previous record received critical acclaim and encouragement from two of his musical heroes, Vijay Iyer (“Theo’s music bursts open with rich, complex emotion… dazzling juxtapositions of wildness and tenderness”) and Oliver Lake (“Theo’s compositions and improvisations are carefully crafted works of inspiration – his creative approach to time, space, dynamics and range are incredible.”) Some Highlights of “if the wind were visible” include the collaboration with kaleidoscopic vocals from Claire Dickson on “over exposure” and the angular rhythmic exploration of “chasing”, as well as the long-form visual poetry of the title track “if the wind were visible”.

In addition to the album, this project also includes a 9-minute short film for the title track “if the wind were visible”. Walentiny had the idea for the film spontaneously while composing the track. “The visuals and the music were revealed to me as one package,” says Theo. He envisioned a secret reality, one that lives behind ours, where it is people’s job to create all the wind that exists throughout the world. The main character wakes up in this new reality to find that he is not welcome. “While writing this piece, I began to feel that I was the main character — finding myself waking up there by composing it”, says Walentiny. The film was directed by a frequent collaborator of Theo’s, Chester Vincent Toye. Adam Gundersheimer acted as cinematographer. Shot in Los Angeles, Walentiny was on-sight to give creative insight and make sure the vision was as he intended. The film will release digitally on November 11th, 2022 alongside the album.

Visually, this project was heavily inspired by the work of David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman. Lynch’s work “*Six Men Getting Sick”* as well as the iconic TV show “Twin Peaks” were specific references for the type of visual language Walentiny was after. The visceral abstraction of the opening to Bergman’s “Persona” also contributed Walentiny’s vision for the film. Musically, this project draws influence from the sound worlds and compositions of Flying Lotus, Jockstrap, Tim Hecker and King Krule. While not trying to consciously emulate these artists, Walentiny has spent a lot of time with their work over the past two years — learning from them and letting their influence arise naturally in his own work. Another important influence for this project was the Surrealist art movement; particularly André Robert Breton’s “Manifeste du surréalisme”. Walentiny heavily identified with Breton’s discussion of ‘Psychic Automatism’ meaning “the dictation of thought in the absence of all control exercised by reason and outside all moral or aesthetic concerns.” This way of working reminded Walentiny of his own improvisational technique and created a sense of kinship amongst himself and the artists of that period. “if the wind were visible" is meant to take listeners out of their regular day-to-day and into something alluringly surreal.

credits

releases November 11, 2022

written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Theo Walentiny

additional vocals on track 3 by Claire Dickson

Looking Glass

theo walentiny - piano

Press Release:

Questing Young Pianist Theo Walentiny Releases His Debut Solo Album, the Kaleidoscopic Looking Glass

Looking Glass – to be released April 2, 2021 – features solo improvisations in the spirit of piano icons Keith Jarrett and Paul Bley, as well as the modernist compositions of Toru Takemitsu and poetic introspection of Mingus Plays Piano

“Theo Walentiny’s music, while at times deceptively austere, bursts open with rich, complex emotion. His recording of solo piano improvisations is a gift of genuine presence, like having a poet over to your home for an afternoon of impassioned insights. Blessed with remarkable sonic command, a patient formal wisdom, and the courage to draw from the depths of his inner world, Theo in turn blesses us with dazzling juxtapositions of wildness and tenderness.” — VIJAY IYER

Brooklyn-based pianist Theo Walentiny has created a small universe of musical introspection and emotion with his solo debut on record, Looking Glass. To be released digitally and on limited-edition CD by the artist on April 2, 2021, this absorbing album showcases Walentiny in pieces created spontaneously at the piano. “My aim was to make raw, unprepared improvisation the focus, with none of the material preconceived,” the 24-year-old pianist explains. “Entering a subconscious flow state is something I aspire to often – so in a sense, that was my key preparation for the session. The album’s title, which comes from the first track, represents the idea that the pieces themselves are a sheet of glass that reflect two worlds – one being my conscious self and another that subconscious state. My hope is that by revealing my musical self in a vulnerable subconscious state, the album might also help reveal to listeners more about themselves. For me, music at its most powerful is transporting – and that’s my goal for the listener. This pandemic we’re all living through has inevitably led to more introspection for most of us. I know, for me, creating in a solo capacity can be a powerful escape.”

Walentiny – who also co-leads the Aurelia Trio with bassist Nick Dunston and drummer Connor Parks, along with composing for his own septet and creating electronic music on his own – recorded Looking Glass in the basement of a midcentury-modern house in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The piano for the session, a Steinway Model B, had belonged to saxophone great Dave Liebman while he lived in New York City during the 1970s loft scene, with such notables as Chick Corea and Richie Beirach having graced its keys. “From the moment I played the first note,” Walentiny recalls, “I could tell it was a special instrument – it felt almost electrified.”

Looking Glass has already earned praise from some estimable figures, not only MacArthur “Genius” pianist-composer Vijay Iyer (“Theo’s music bursts open with rich, complex emotion… dazzling juxtapositions of wildness and tenderness”), but also veteran saxophonist Oliver Lake: “Theo’s compositions and improvisations are carefully crafted works of inspiration – his creative approach to time, space, dynamics and range are incredible.” Some of the highlights of Looking Glass include dramatic opener “Fanfare for the Looking Glass” and the evocatively poetic “Behind Tall Grass,” as well as the dynamic abstractions of “Film I” and “Of Worlds Other Than.”

Discussing some of his key influences when it comes to solo piano, Walentiny singles out Keith Jarrett’s Köln Concert and Paul Bley’s Open, To Love, as well as Mingus Plays Piano by Charles Mingus. “I never tried to consciously emulate any of those albums for Looking Glass, although each has contributed to my sound and sensibility over the years, especially when it comes to playing solo,” Walentiny says. “The way Jarrett created long narratives and unique musical worlds on Köln Concert it’s as though he enters a trance state where the music plays itself. His solo work is partly what inspired me to perform long improvised solo sets. Bley’s Open, To Love demonstrates his deep connection with the instrument, and the way he works with harmony and time produces an otherworldly sound. As for Mingus Plays Piano, I grew up listening to that album from a very young age. I remember finding the CD lying around my house and being blown away by the first few notes of ‘Myself When I am Real,’ as I still am to this day. Listening to Mingus on this recording showed me what was possible for the piano and the human spirit – a way of communicating more powerful than words. It’s something to aspire to.”

credits

Theo Walentiny - Piano

All music Improvised by Theo Walentiny

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Patrick McGee in Bethlehem, PA

Album Artwork by Janet Walentiny

CD Design by Angeliki Matiatos

Endless Other

theo walentiny - piano, lee meadvin - guitar

Using an acoustic duo recording session from 2018 as source material Lee and I created these two electronic pieces.

We decided it would be interesting to see how different and/or similar each other's pieces could be when coming from the same source. After the initial session we did not share our individual pieces with one another until they were finished.

Contextual Void - Composed/Mixed by Theo Walentiny

The Siphon at Large - Composed/Mixed by Lee Meadvin

credits

Mastering by Lee Meadvin

Artwork by Janet Walentiny

Spattered Current

theo walentiny - piano, nick dunston - bass, connor parks - drums

Aurelia Trio

theo walentiny - piano, nick dunston - bass, connor parks - drums