London, 2017

 

Melbourne based composer Christopher Dicker is well known for taking part in various musical projects over the last few years, and it is with a soft and intimate side of him that he presents us A Priori: Music for the Back of Your Mind. With a collection of pieces that have been written throughout the years, and strongly influenced by Erik Satie’s music, Dicker aims at creating a sort of musical furniture for our quiet place.

 

Whether you decide to let the music flow in the background—without paying too much attention to it—or whether you decide to listen to it closely, A Priori introduces sonic warmth and comfort to a musical moment.

Some pieces, such as Pruned Oak or Toward a Road Less Travelled, are honest and evocative. Other ones, such as Don’t You Worry and Beneath Layers of Dust, are hypnotic and repetitive. Some of them, such as Begin, are minimalistically beautiful, whilst other ones seem to float in the air;Waltz for the Dawn. Some pieces—Fiftythree—even seem to be transparent, somehow intended to be left out.

 

Dicker states that Satie’s works showed him that simple music can be just as beautiful and powerful. There is a bit of Satie yes, but there is also the heritage of Chopin’s Nocturnes and Glass’s piano works. A Priori is full of humble music to decorate an evening, and an invitation to reflect over oneself.

 

A particular mention to the stunning artwork that has been made by the French photographer Alexandre Katuszynski, whose works focus on the exploration of abandoned places in Europe.