Brendan Eder Ensemble – Therapy

For his third studio album, Los Angeles composer Brendan Eder rented a cavernous church sanctuary in Arcadia, gathered a dozen-odd musicians, many of them woodwind players, and offered answers to the question he’d posed: “What kind of ambient record would Richard D. James, a.k.a. Aphex Twin, create with a chamber ensemble and a church organ?” Given those parameters, Therapy‘s ten pieces capture the mood and spaciousness of Selected Ambient Works II, with gentle, cascading melodies that seem to drift through the speakers. Therapy features two Aphex Twin covers: “3 (Rhubarb)” and “#17,” but each of the 10 pieces is its own reward. Crucially, Eden travels much deeper – play “137 Riddle” at full volume for proof – when exploring what could be a pretty basic conceit. Release notes describe its creation as occurring “during a period of deep spiritual curiosity. Eder was avidly watching testimonies of near death experience survivors (NDEs), pouring over books of Theosophical artwork and philosophy, and processing experiences of grief, uncertainty and spirituality. He wanted to explore the threshold between the spiritual and physical dimensions, and create music that could evoke its shape and texture.” That depth of thought and intention permeates Therapy.

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