KALI MALONE Vinyl & CDs

Review: Kali Malone's The Sacrificial Code stands as a defining work of 21st Century minimalism, shaped by years of intensive study. Originally released in 2019, the album emerged from her time at Stockholm's Royal College of Music, where she explored sound, space, and alternate tuning systems under the guidance of organ tuner Jan Borjeson. Stripping composition down to its starkest form, she embraced canons and slow-moving harmonic shifts, slowly but surely stepping into a sound emphasising monumentality. Now, six years later, The Sacrificial Code is reissued via Ideologic Organ, featuring a new 2023 recording of the title track on a 16th-century organ. Malone's self-taught recording techniques bring out the instrument's spirant resonance, creating a time-dilating sound. Less mournful, more tranquil, the new version mirrors the concurrent transformations of music and listeners in step, over time.

Review: If you're keyed into the modern classical stretch of the contemporary ambient world, you'll have likely discovered Kali Malone before. Her works have been largely focused on the organ, which she has pushed into all manner of experimental realms as a vessel for life-affirming drones, but don't be misled into thinking that's the only tool in her kit. Malone is a constantly evolving, inquisitive artist and her new album All Life Long confirms this with specific pieces for voice and brass performed by Macadam Ensemble and Anima Brass. Rewarding the patient listener and breaking new ground in her compelling, studious approach to music, this is another firm reminder of Malone's formidable presence in contemporary experimental music circles.