Cris Derksen
She’s primarily a cellist, one who works across genres; one of the great joys here is it’s impossible to attach any kind of handle to the music. Just as you think you have it nailed down, the next track is something different, as with the the cello and programming of “aabaakwad” which becomes the wordless singing of “New Heya.”
There’s a raw, unfettered beauty to the album, music made with passion and no restraints. There are a couple of songs here, but nothing that conforms to expectations, altering gears and direction, as when the strings and brass that arrive from nowhere to take over “Buffalo Girls.”
But the emotional centrepiece here is “Lyre Birds,” with Derksen’s cello weaving sparely around the shards of spoken words, leading into the fluttering piano arpeggios of “Nice And Clean.” This is an album of surprises, leading down strange lanes and around brilliant corners that offer startling new views. As both composer and musician, Cris Derksen is more than a singular talent; she’s a person with a vision for her music, and she keeps true to it here. The Visit is not an easy listen, but it is eminently satisfying.
Further listening:
An audio interview with Cris Derksen from The Canadian Music Centre: Prairie Region hosted by Janna Sailor
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The Visit isn’t an album built on compromises. The fourth release from Derksen, a Canadian from the North TallCree Reserve on her father’s side, and with a Mennonite lineage from her mother, pushes and cajoles her visions, where it’s the opening, full-throated improvisation of “White Gladis 1” (with singer Jennifer Kreisberg) or the encompassing haunting mood that grows up around “Lyre Birds.”
