Of the two releases Cornel Wilczek has slated for release this year as Qua, Silver Red is ostensibly the more left-field of the pair. Upcoming album Q&A, to follow later this year, is decidedly pop in its description and intent. Yet the sounds of Silver Red are not as far removed from the pop aesthetic as you might think. There are bright and upbeat fragments even within the longer length tracks here, as cut-up and processed elements meet their melodic matches.
The first three compositions are all titled ‘Silver Red’ and numbered appropriately, and feature Laurence Pike on a one-take drum solo which was then restructured by Wilczek using a custom software patch and controlled with Lemur. Eleven minute composition ‘Silver Red 3′ is all chopped drums, guitar and piano, duelling out in a frenetic yet exhilarating combination. It starts inconspicuously, gradually building in intensity as Wilczek slowly introduces new elements to the piece. Blissfully eclectic, the three ‘Silver Red’ takes are allowed room to evolve across the length of the album and play off each other neatly.
However, when the distilled, radio-friendly final track ‘One Second’ emerges it seems more like a minor addendum to the other songs than the resolution it was supposed to be. It is lovely piece indeed, but Silver Red feels strong enough without it. Perhaps then, we should see it as a hint of the route that Wilczek is to take on Q&A, and enjoy it on its own rather than combined with the more liberal sounds that appear on Silver Red.
Alexandra Savvides
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