Notes fall like raindrops, quickening pace as the clouds gather. The piano melody splish sploshes into the electronic soundscape; the trees become denser, the journey more profound. Belle Chen's new album ‘Ravel In The Forest’, leads the listener through ancient woodland, quiet clearings and tropical canopies. We're accompanied by birds, a chameleon, a dragonfly – the wonder of the natural world is imbued into this imaginary space.
‘Ravel In The Forest’ is the latest album of original music by pianist-composer Belle Chen: a playful celebration of the forests’ colourful ecosystems, and a safe space for the listeners to delve into their imagination.
This special vinyl release contains 12 of the original 16 tracks from the album especially curated and re-mastered for vinyl, including the new extended version of ‘Closer’ with the BBC Philharmonic.
Side A
A1: Passages of Time
A2: Three Birds
A3: The Chameleon
A4: The Dragonfly
A5: Half A Moment
Side B
B1: Closer (Extended Version)
B2: And It Rains
B3: Moonrise
B4: My Deers
B5: Lone Wolf
B6: Adagio, Sans
B7: Assai, Assai
All tunes composed by Belle Chen except ‘Adagio, Sans’ (by Maurice Ravel)
Piano, synths, keys: Belle Chen
Programming: Belle Chen
Orchestra: ‘Closer (Extended Version)’ with BBC Philharmonic, ‘Moonrise’ with Budapest Art Orchestra
Synth programming: Alex O;Donovan for 'Closer (Extended Version)'
Erhu: CheWei Yeh for 'Closer (Extended Version)'
Conductor: Ben Palmer for 'Closer (Extended Version)'
Notes fall like raindrops, quickening pace as the clouds gather. The piano melody splish sploshes into the electronic soundscape; the trees become denser, the journey more profound. Belle Chen's new album ‘Ravel In The Forest’, leads the listener through ancient woodland, quiet clearings and tropical canopies. We're accompanied by birds, a chameleon, a dragonfly – the wonder of the natural world is imbued into this imaginary space.
‘Ravel In The Forest’ is the latest album of original music by pianist-composer Belle Chen: a playful celebration of the forests’ colourful ecosystems, and a safe space for the listeners to delve into their imagination.
"Original and provocative… feels like the sense of discovery” (Brian Eno)
#7 on UK Official Chart (Classical)
#15 on Australia’s ARIA Chart (Classical)
Track Listing:
1. Passages of Time
2. Kingdom Animalia
3. Three Birds
4. The Chameleon
5. The Dragonfly
6. Half A Moment
7. Closer
8. And It Rains
9. Fleeting, Aromatic
10. My Deers
11. Whispering Tree
12. Birthday
13. Lone Wolf
14. Moonrise
15. Adagio, Sans
16. Assai, Assai
16 Tracks - 48 minutes
4 Panel Digipak 8pp Booklet with liner notes by Claire Jackson.
Released February 16, 2024
All tunes composed by Belle Chen except ‘Adagio, Sans’ (by Maurice Ravel)
Piano, synths, keys: Belle Chen
Programming: Belle Chen
Orchestra: Budapest Art Orchestra for 'Moonrise' and 'Closer'
Mixing engineer: Dougal Lott, Bobble Hat Sound, UK
Additional mixing: Bobby Williams
Mastering engineer: Dave Darlington, Bass Hit Studios, NYC
Album Design: Adam Hinks
Photography: Matthew Johnson
Liner Notes: Claire Jackson
Perfectly replicated from a glass master by Pure-Music Production.
Includes unlimited streaming of Ravel In The Forest
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
An imaginative and quirky celebration of the forests’ colourful
ecosystems.
‘Ravel In The Forest’ is a 16-track album of original music by
pianist-composer Belle Chen.
The word ‘ravel’ in the title serves both as a verb ‘to disentangle’ and
a tribute to French Impressionist composer Maurice Ravel, whose
melodic motif can be heard scattered throughout the album.
From Belle:
Each track of the album is inspired by my observation of a diverse range of life and events within temperate and tropical forests from chameleons, dragonflies, the yellow carabeen trees (karrabina benthamiana), to the sound of rain falling on the canopy - I explores relatability and relevance between us and the forests’ flora and fauna, and reflects on the interconnectivity between humankind and life in the forest.
This album is a celebration of the forests’ colourful ecosystems, where listeners are enveloped in music that transports them to a magical and imaginative space.
“The most important aspect of this record is the listener, and how his, her, or their own imagination enables them to find that wonderful, inquisitive forest from within.”
There are no sound design or field recordings used in this album. Instead, I opted to use synths and electric piano in surprising ways to mimic forest murmurs, bird calls, wolf calls etc, creating a sweet and surreal take on my observation and imagination inspired by the forests.
Instead of the cleanliness of concert grand piano of a traditional classical piano recording, I opted to use the felt piano as the central instrument, capturing with it the organic wooden sounds and pedal lifts for a sense of intimacy, with some of the organic ‘noises’ reminding me of the sound of
tree branches cracking when walking through a forest.
credits
released February 16, 2024
Composed by Belle Chen (except Adagio, Sans, composed by M. Ravel)
Programming by Belle Chen
Mixed by Dougal Lott, Bobble Hat Sound, UK
Mastered by Dave Darlington, Bass Hit Studios, NYC
