Patina

It’s beneath the surface that we often discover real beauty. Strip away melody, and the underlying sounds and textures become the story. Cellist and composer Peter Gregson brings us up-close to music’s inner truth: the delicate sounds of bow meeting string (“Patina”) and fingers on keyboard (“Sense”); the complex, woody overtones of a solo cello (“Don’t Wake”)—all of which we often ignore. This is an album of textures—human, acoustic, and digital—and almost formless soundscapes that envelop the listener, their imperfections inviting an atmosphere of peace and calm, comfort and reassurance. In “Sequence (Seven),” Gregson blends electronica and strings to mesmerizing effect, while his soaring, close-mic’d cello lends “Over” a gorgeous, raw beauty.

The boundary-pushing Patina is a stunning statement of technological and musical innovation from composer and cellist Peter Gregson