BY CHRISTOPHER NANKERVIS
We would like to welcome Christopher in his first review with CutCommon.
Love Child
Aksuna (aka Natasha Lin)
Independent Release , 2019
Pianist Natasha Lin’s album Love Child is a deeply personal work of beauty and intricacy that implores the listener to share in its narrative. I am familiar with Natasha’s style, having worked with her for Concerts at St George’s, and even having the pleasure to perform one of her works. Listening to this album, I was able to become more acquainted with Lin as composer. Under the artist name Aksuna, Lin has composed the entire album for solo piano, the playing is spellbinding, colourful, youthful, and technically superb.
From the outset, this album soars the heights and plumbs the depths of human experience, with Aksuna’s opening piece Momentus serving as a prologue and encapsulating the journey to follow. Field of Gold delights with its almost folksong-like melody taking flight on unabashedly Romantic wing. One of the real gems here, however, is Space Between Us; familiar pianistic tropes cannot evoke the elation of intimacy and the painful fear of its loss – subjects that this work undeniably brushes.
The Dreaming is an indulgent piece, and the composer uses a whirlwind of textures lent to her by Rachmaninov and Chopin, and a melody reminiscent of John Williams after the piece’s turbulent middle episode melts away. Warmth dissolves into eeriness in Decay’s opening, which is almost reminiscent of a haunting Prokofiev sonata. Aksuna doesn’t languish in this for long, however, as the dazzling pyrotechnics of her piano style emerge again. This is not bravura, but rather something more generous. This generosity towards the listener is unleashed in full at the emotional crux of the album, Prayer for Peace. Here, Aksuna brings her utmost to the work, baring every desperate thought and fragile feeling.
The title track is a lullaby; it is delicate and inward-searching, yet, as with every other work on the album, Aksuna always lets the listener in. Chasm follows, taking an appealing minimalist texture, yet it is decidedly not minimalist in its narrative development. Aksuna’s powerful storytelling remains at the forefront, given striking clarity by her alluring, virtuosic pianism.
The final work on the album, Ghost, weaves spell-like melodies over the listener, revealing a different side to Aksuna’s composition and may leave you longing for a follow-up album. One does wonder, though, how a follow-up could contain such an apt title as this one does.
Love Child is successful on many counts: while the musical language and texture of the compositions follow well-trod paths, the sequence of the works on the album form a rich and varied whole. These pieces are not unnecessarily complex, but each one is filled with depth and purpose. Aksuna’s concern for her listener is refreshing and even empowering. Love Child shares in the hurts, the loves, the lessons, and the joys, and reminds us that a piano and a giving soul are capable of it all.
Listen to Aksuna’s independent release Love Child on Spotify.
UPDATE 16 SEPTEMBER 2019: This music will be performed at the Melbourne Fringe Festival on 22 September.
