For this Open Haus, Reethaus presents “Behind Her Name Chestnuts Fall Forever” by the Danish sound artist and producer Sofie Birch, known for her lush ambient releases and live shows, such as her much-lauded 2022 performance with Polish singer Antonina Nowacka at the Pinault Collection for the Philippe Parreno exhibition.
Staged publicly for the first time, “Behind Her Name Chestnuts Fall Forever” was inspired by the soundscapes of electronic pioneers Franco Battiato, Raul Lovisoni and Francesco Messina, central figures within the 20th-century Italian avant-garde. It is music for dreamers, for those who pay close attention to the details in their nighttime reveries, for whom every small moment is full of meaning.
Built upon a series of improvisations from the same morning, the piece is arranged and played without tempo and grid. Birch set a close mic on a piano with a stereo setup of two Røde NT5, and in the same room set up an old B&O ribbon microphone, allowing a very dusty and noisy mono sound to weave in and out of the composition, and recording the synths and vocals later in her Copenhagen studio.
“I’m very fascinated by playing arpeggio-like synth figures without a grid,” said Birch. “When working with minimal compositions, I think it leaves room for other very small things to stand out, such as repetitive figures that slightly move in tempo and intensity, constantly aware of themselves and their context. …the listener either unconsciously or very carefully recognizes small changes. It feels alive. It feels present and personal.”
