From Bach to electrominimalism. Lucy Railton, Cellist at the Crossroads of Worlds

In the last two years, there has been a record without warning. Led by pianist Fred Thomas, headlined Three or one This album is an excellent interpretation of Bach’s works. when listening to it, one instrument in particular stands out: the cello. His translator manages to subtly impose something unique, simple and elegant, as if it also comes from another world. This young musician Lucy Railton isn’t bound to one universe, she explores several. Thus, when we first met him, he was busy with much less classical music. It was in the corridors of Radio France studios in Paris. More precisely in the basements of the buildings on Rue du Colonel-Mangin, where the GRM studios were located; Associated with Ina, this music research group invites artists to create pieces and then broadcast them during one of the music festivals held at the Maison. de la radio. That day, therefore, Lucy Railton was busy completing her own electronic work, titled format, and was heard in public a few months later, before the release of the beautiful album that was released last year.

Between baroque and minimalist music

Meanwhile, we also heard Lucy Railton on stage alongside American Callie Malone and Stephen O’Malley; together they play Malone’s composition, composed during the first weeks of Covid, which focuses on a long time measurement, allowing for very beautiful frequencies. buzzing for a very long time. With Malone on electronics and O’Malley on guitar, Lucy Railton plays her cello. He makes such a clear, powerful and clean voice that among the most famous instruments he manages to impose his playing, his timbre, musicality. He seems as comfortable in Bach’s baroque scrolls as he is in modern strains of minimalism.

When we finally spoke to him, just a few weeks ago, one of the first questions we asked him was about his instrument and the way he played it, getting such tones out of it. How does he do it? “I have been playing since I was very young, I practice the cello three to four hours a day, I have to maintain my practice with this routine, and I will die with this instrument. It’s so complex that I’m constantly trying to find my peace with it, and the more I work, the more I’m able to incorporate it into everything I do. And what I play is an Asian cello, which isn’t very expensive, but it’s light and allows me to try a lot of things without being afraid to push the boundaries.

Searching for peace

The musician, who was born in England and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2008, speaks to us from Berlin, where he has been based for several years. The reason for our discussion is the release of his next album, corner dancer*, where he explores short pieces where improvisation mixes with electronics. “This album was created over the course of a year, and its components evolved slowly and organically. I didn’t have a specific idea, except, perhaps, that I especially had to find the silences and calmness between the sounds in the sound, unlike my previous recordings, which were chaotic, full of energy and virtuosity. For this one, I was looking for less showy energy, more internal, intimate, subtle.”

How do we achieve softness in such unique instrumental music? “The last ten years have been so intense as a performer and composer that they have taught me all the realities of my profession, but also to fully understand what my aesthetic is, what are the places in me that I want to explore. This is what led me to this search for serenity and made me think in concrete terms to relate compositions to simple yet diverse structures. Each part of the record has a unique purpose, it was a challenge but also a necessity and also definitely a form of maturity. But maybe next time I’ll want to be ostentatious again…”

A range of sensitivities

Lucy Railton is part of a generation of young musicians who are between 25 and 35 years old and whose music comes from several traditions, like minimalist classical music born in New York in the 1960s, improvised but also electronic music. whether experimental or techno, is more dance oriented. We think of Kali Malone and her albums that explore modern minimalism, on organ or pure electronics, of Leila Bordrey, another cellist whose works border on pure noise, of Leila Sakini, who tries to sing chamber music delicately under the name : Diana, Princess of Wales, or the French Felicia Atkinson, who blends poetry and dreamy instrumentals…Lucy Railton, for her part, sits on the fringes of genres, equally capable of playing Bach and du Messier than launching into long spectral improvisations. An ability that allows him to find his own land.

“Being a performer, but also a composer and producer, forced me to build my own aesthetic. The presence of classical harmony is important in my playing, but I do not follow the tradition of classical music. I’m interested in the sound world that comes out of that and being able to transport it into a universe that’s completely my own.” This universe evolves over the course of the album. This begins with an extremely complex and almost cinematic piece that gives the whole thing its name. The drive then progresses to greater clarity, just like the grip itself Something in the sky built from a loop of sound, like a recurring dream that we seek to relive forever. Throughout, Lucy Railton explores a range of sensibilities. “The record is a dialogue between the intimate and the expressionist,” he admits. It is this constant balance that is his strength and that makes us this musician who can evolve between worlds without sacrificing anything of his uniqueness, dear and precious, unique.

* corner dancer, Modern Love, available in November. Lucy Railton plays J.-S. On Bach, with Fred Thomas. Three or one ECM; With Kali Malone and Stephen O’Malley,Spring hides her joy An ideological organ.