Hilde Marie Holsen released the follow-up to her well-received debut Ask this week. Lazuli, which features trumpet and electronics, includes four pieces, all of which are named after a mineral used in coloured paint.
The connection between music and colour has long been touted as something that sets certain musicians apart. Synesthesia is a neurological condition that causes two or more of a person’s senses to combine. Stevie Wonder is one famous example of a musician who associates notes with colours. Duke Ellington was another.
Lee Yi from Málaga, Spain has a new recording for us that turns what Wonder and Ellington have described on its head. Dissimilar Lake Pigments offers seven works inspired by colour.
The lake in question certainly sports an inspiring set of pigments. Lake Hillier is a saline lake off the southern coast of western Australia. It is famous for its pink colour, believed to be due to an organism called the Dunaliella salina microalgae. That’s according to studies conducted by the Extreme Microbiome Project.
The so-called Pink Lake stretches just 600 metres long. But since its discovery in 1802, it has been a source of fascination for photographers all over the world.
Yi’s work captures the enigmatic draw of this remarkable visual. These drone ambient compositions are not so much fluid as they are airy and full of life. The work breathes long and deeply.
Yi has brought this remarkable, one-of-a-kind body of water to life. This is what it sounds like late at night.