JACASZEK
Pentral

Label: Gustaff Records, 2009
Catalogue No: GRAM0902
Format: CD + DVD

"My  new project is an attempt to describe a gothic church interior by means of sounds. A temple owns its special atmosphere not only to visual elements but also to characteristic acoustics reverb, enhancing and prolonging a slightest whisper into infinity. I have spent several days in three Gdansk historic churches (Oliwa Cathedral, St. Nicolas’ church, St. Mary’s Basilica) recording chanting, organs, and also a broad spectrum of accidental noises. Source sounds were were used only as a stimulus which releases the sound of the whole inside, and as such, they were consequently retouched in the post production process. Studio work and also the atmosphere of melody and arrangements were subordinate to the idea of portraying the church as a place filled with distant mysteries, a huge music instrument.” (Jacaszek)

Tracks:

CD
1 I 2:29
2 II 4:20
3 III 3:43 (Voice - Aleksandra Kisiel-Zawada , Lena Majewska , Maja Sieminska , Stefan Wesolowski)
4 IV 4:15  (Voice - Maja Sieminska)
5 V 3:18
6 VI 4:06 (Voice - Stefan Cejrowski)
7 VII 3:07
8 VIII 3:10 (Voice - Stefan Cejrowski)
9 IX 3:52
10 X 3:27 (Voice - Aleksandra Kisiel-Zawada , Lena Majewska , Maja Sieminska , Stefan Wesolowski)

DVD
DVD.1 I 2:29
DVD.2 II 4:20
DVD.3 III 3:43 (Voice - Aleksandra Kisiel-Zawada , Lena Majewska , Maja Sieminska , Stefan Wesolowski)
DVD.4 IV 4:15  (Voice - Maja Sieminska)
DVD.5 V 3:18
DVD.6 VI 4:06 (Voice - Stefan Cejrowski)
DVD.7 VII 3:07
DVD.8 VIII 3:10 (Voice - Stefan Cejrowski)
DVD.9 IX 3:52
DVD.10 X 3:27 (Voice - Aleksandra Kisiel-Zawada , Lena Majewska , Maja Sieminska , Stefan Wesolowski)
DVD.11 Pentral - The Sound Of The Interior (Pentral Brzmienie Wn?trza) 13:17

All the recordings made in Gdansk gothic churches (incl. St Nicolas Church, the Oliwa Cathedral and St Mary's Basilica) during summer 2008. CD: music mixed in normal audio stereo format.  DVD: music mixed in 5.1 Dolby Surround system + documentary movie by Antek Grzybek.

Credits:

Recorded by, Producer - Jacaszek
Organ Samples - Blazej Musialczyk , Stefan Wesolowski
Vocal Arrangements - Stefan Wesolowski
Photography - Julia Pivakowska
 

 Review:

Jacaszek follows up last's year stunning and critically acclaimed 'Treny' album with another long player of incredible depth and ambition. 'Pentral', which is Latin for 'Inside, Spirit, Temple', is a conceptual project attempting to describe a gothic church interior with sound. In order to realize this, Jacaszek set about recording 'Pentral' in three of Gdansk's oldest churches. Divided into ten parts, it could be said that 'Pentral' is an uneasy listening experience, throwing the listener violently at times with almost overwhelming dynamic contrasts; what begins as a slow and tense build seemingly created from sample based recordings suddenly explodes into an unrelenting, shimmering wall of discordance, sounding like a hundred church organs screaming out. The compositions have all the claustrophobia of the nastier end of Scott Walker's 'The Drift' arrangements, yet there does seem to be some light at the end of the tunnel - even in its most distressing moments there is, within the ethereal racket, something of an uplifting optimism. While 'Pentral' does contain passages of melodic beauty such as those found on 'Treny', this is a journey that is more rooted in atonal explorations. It has more of a 'found sound' source material feel, which in part comes from Jacaszek's use and capitalization on accidental noises captured whilst recording in the church environments. "Part III" for instance develops into a absolutely jaw-dropping choral arrangement, all laced in background static and percussive, treated piano recordings, never overreaching, never trying too hard to overstate. Elsewhere we find pieces which attack with an intent to terrify; "Part VI" is a schizophrenic composition, frantically and without warning cutting between sparse, low-end tension and more pummeling organ clusters - the unexpected bursts of dissonance being on a parallel with the noise blasts of Sutcliffe Jugend and early Whitehouse. But this is not a noise album by any stretch of the imagination. Ghostly operatic voices and unexpected minimal use of percussion colour the low organ tones and treated sounds, mixing unsettling feelings with equal amounts of perplexity and intrigue. It's as much about the silence in the pieces as it is the compositions; within its minimal moments, what comes through it the vastness of the church spaces, the slow decay of the sounds entirely owing to the environments in which they were recorded. It's dark and it's certainly desolate at times, but in other moments the pieces purvey a sense of these buildings' strength and stability - these historic churches have stood the test of time. Gorgeous edition housed in a 6-panel digipack. The CD contains the 'Pentral' album, and the DVD contains a 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound mix of 'Pentral', and a documentary by Antek Gryzbek. (Boomkat)