Appearing unusual at first, this collaboration between Mexican Ambient figurehead Fernando Corona (better known as Murcof) and multi-award winning French classical pianist Vanessa Wagner surrenders a sublime logic. Both classically trained, their career paths took different trajectories, but converged toward the same enthusiasm when it comes to minimalism.
On the one hand, Vanessa Wagner decided to stay close to the original score and respect the sheet music in the “classical sense”. Her quality to interpret has been rewarded with a “Victoire de la Musique classique” award, the ultimate recognition for a French Classical Musician. Despite her wide- ranging repertoire, she never hides a willingness to open her musical spectrum to modern compositions.
On the other hand, Murcof was initially invested in post-punk band Sonios and dance-punk collective Nortec before refocusing his solo career on extensive research of sound design and textures. In 2008, Alexandre Cazac (A&R of InFiné) invited Murcof to collaborate with a classical orchestra to perform for the Palace of Versailles. Two years later, Vanessa Wagner and Fernando decided to work together on a live performance, following their initial meeting at Workshop InFiné in France.
Both musicians found the spaced-out compositions of Arvo Pärt, Ligeti, John Cage, Erik Satie or Philip Glass a musical playground where they could express their own qualities. The selection permeated by a wide-ranging conception of minimalism, including illustrious and more obscure contemporary classical pieces barely disrupted by a short and decisive inclusion from an iconoclastic figure of electronic music, Aphex Twin ‘Avril 14th’.
Through their experience of performing together on stage, the identity of the project took shape. During their mystic performances, the protagonists demonstrated both their freedom in improvisation and their precision in execution. Vanessa acknowledges that the stage was a platform they could “weave” freely between their respective universes.
Alternately echoing and mirroring Wagner’s piano in real time, Murcof’s loops and textures reveal and multiply perspectives on genre, shifting from ambient to electro, giving a newfound depth of field and resonance. Almost six years of crafting has enabled both artists to capture the essence of their captivating performances, and share their evolving concert with audiences before formulating an original studio album.
Murcof and Vanessa Vagner’s collaborative album ‘Statea’ is released September 23 on Infine. Watch a video about the making of the album below;
Murcof & Vanessa Wagner present Statea from InFine Music on Vimeo.
