September 2, 2003 ( ) (Home video, United States).
November 3, 2002 ( ) (Television ABC premiere).It speaks to a new mastery of his own sound, one filled with balance, nuance and drama, creating one of the most genuinely affecting pieces of music the label has released and the closest Tombed Visions will get to financing a film. When Trofa’s six string does sound, it is icily articulated and ringing clear through the distance. In fact, it's his sparing use of the instrument that makes the album so good. Trofa has managed to deftly sidestep many of the trappings that plague solo guitar records, resisting the urge to track multiple takes or committing to an over reliance on experimenting with an array of effects pedals. Companion piece ‘Zolar’ is 2 minute miniature epic, its cresting VHS smeared synths and propulsive electronic beat gestures at the opulence of Michael Mann directed finale, its redemptive melody bathed in evening glare of the beach after something exhaustingly climatic.Įven with all these competing elements, the album’s defining aspect is its spaciousness and its sheer variety of moods. ‘Echolalia’s modulated synths morph slowly around a simple descending guitar motif as a field recording of chattering voices describes some distant Italian café where something ominous waits. Even on the more experimental and introspective cuts, Trofa’s keen sense of melodic sensibility is intact. Built around a Jim Wallis' skittering jazz beat, Trofa’s Parisian style guitar weaves in and out of tune in the record's most bittersweet harmony, with label boss David McLean adding some defeated tenor saxophone to drive home the blues. ‘Rambo Waltz’ dispels some of the album's thickly curtained atmospherics. Thankfully, this melodic motif flowers beautifully into the doomed ballad ‘Zampano’, muscular drums pounding out a funeral rhythm against a ghostly guitar figure that descends into disquieting overdrive.
‘Dance Alone’ is the first stand out miniature, an organ-like synth pad lapping against heart-breaking guitar chords that feels like it could last much longer than its one and half minute length. The same careful consideration has been given to the entire flow of the album, with the longer compositions nestled amongst smaller mood pieces, but each song sounds like its own complete scene, one rehearsed and shot with total precision, not a breath wasted.
Trofa’s trademark ‘Twilight’ guitar continues to be his music’s main protagonist, but it is embellished on this record with carefully selected synthesizers, electronic percussion, jazzy drums and evocative field recordings, bringing a more panoramic and elevated scope to his music. Indeed, much of the album's melodic content has an imperceptible Mediterranean flair whilst conjuring the more insular work of directors likes Claire Denis, Michael Haneke and Paolo Sorrentino and images of poignant dialogue delivered by shadowy figures in lowly lit hotel rooms, the evening falling outside. Recorded with Jim Wallis throughout 2022, the 10 compositions that make up the album have been created with the patience of an auteur director, each piece of mise-en-scene delicately placed, unfolding with the grace, subtlety and emotional resonance of a European art house film. Wedding Songs marks the return to the label of filmmaker and composer, Clint Trofa, with his most ambitious and masterfully executed suite of music to date. LTD cassette coming to this BandCamp soon. Thanks: Steve, Luke, Jorge, Julian, Dave O, EQD & M. Live drums, additional synth & programming by Jim Wallis Mastering by Rafael Anton Irisarri Black Knoll Studio, NYC Recorded by Jim Wallis Strongroom Studios, 2022 All music composed & performed by Clint Trofa
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