Annie Sumi x Brava Kilo - “Stone Between The Lips”
With her collaboration with Brava Kilo, Canadian ethereal folk musician Annie Sumi has served up a lovely fusion of traditional and experimental music. “Stone Between The Lips” ticks all the musical boxes that I love in a song. It is taken from their upcoming EP that goes along with their installation, which is currently on display at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. If only I was local so I could check it out!
The song begins in a rather conventional manner. Finger playing on an acoustic guitar and a really stunning, breathy vocal. Slowly, strange sounds are introduced as a foreshadowing of what is to come. An excellent percussion selection begins flexing into the spaces of the folk beginnings. It results in a really contemporary feel, but I love that the song slowly pushes further into experimentation. The song is slowly surrounded by fantastic ethereal pad sounds that develop and change, setting a very awesome mood. The way the song evolves makes me think of the artist Tertia. The real icing on the cake happens at three minutes, when, like a stunning LSD trip, we are taken on a journey of foley recordings of people speaking and synth arpeggios. The soundscape develops into what I describe as an “industrial party.” Then it dies back to the beautiful vocal and acoustic guitar. This is wonderful.
The artist says: “Stone Between The Lips” communicates the “desire to speak freely with our Ancestors about their experiences of immigration and internment, and the lives they were able to create.”
Be sure to check out the video: