The Same and The Other is a work of art that sits between experimental electronic music and the avant-garde, is the stunning result of a new collaborative project between Italian composer, arranger, and producer Eraldo Bernocchi and British composer and experimental artist, Christopher James Chaplin.
Combining minimal electronic interventions and haunting melodies with slow-moving textures and layered ambient sounds, The Same and The Other is set for release on the 28th June as a limited edition featuring the powerful and captivating work of artist Petulia Mattioli as a 2LP audiophile 180-gram gatefold vinyl, tri-panel cd, digital download and via all major streaming services.
Having first met at the Extreme Chill Festival in Reykjavík, Iceland in 2019, Bernocchi and Chaplin have been leaders in their chosen fields for many years, but this was the first time they had met in person. Forming an instant bond, the duo were soon exchanging ideas on sound and composition at Bernocchi’s studio in London. “To be honest, we didn't have a specific goal in mind initially. We were simply creating music and sounds through mutual exchange,” adds Bernocchi. “We met several times at my studio, where I decided to limit myself to using only one machine, an Elektron Analog Four MKII. I prefer working within limitations because it focuses creativity. Christopher used a synth and Ableton Live as a sampler and his diverse inputs kept us in a constant state of wonder about the music we were creating.”
With minimal processing, mainly reverbs and some delay, the initial recording sessions were improvised around simple themes and after accumulating a number of tracks, Bernocchi and Chaplin intentionally took a break from the recording process to refresh their perspectives before returning with a more focused approach.
But it was the involvement of visual artist, designer, and photographer Petulia Mattioli who was exhibiting her new art installation The Same and the Other which explored the relationship of the body to time, knowledge, and memory, that the concept of the album began to gradually take shape. Bernocchi had previously worked with Mattioli on numerous art installations over the years providing the audio aspect and although she had no part in the actual recording process of the album, Mattioli’s video projections, artworks, and photo scrolls began to mould and form a huge conceptual part in the musical direction the album would take.
With a combined enthusiasm for creating music and art and exploring the endless possibilities, The Same and The Other is a vessel that has the ability to transport listeners to unknown places, to their personal unexplored realms. Driven purely by their creative instinct from the outset, compositions such as the slow-moving, layered ambient sounds of ‘Oblique’ or dystopian manifestations of ‘Curved’ alternate between presence and absence. Bernocchi and Chaplin seek to bring their melodic ambiental metamorphosis in parallel with Mattioli’s work to produce an expansive soundscape that places the listener in a reflective space.
Elsewhere, the iridescent ‘Foursquare’ alternates between the octaves in a contrast of deep tones and brilliant beaming timbres, while ‘Weaver’ has a completely different genesis, written specifically for the fourth side of the vinyl release. Edits taken from the other album tracks received fresh impetus from the duo and were remixed resulting in a “live” feel to the track.
