Description

When Italian composer Bruno Bavota and Dutch songwriter Chantal Acda first met several years ago, they knew almost instantly that they wanted to make music together. Bavota was already a fan of Acda’s dreamy, orchestral folk, and in Bavota’s intimate, picturesque piano compositions, Acda saw a potential for collaboration that was begging to be explored. As it would happen, the inherent loneliness and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic would provide a most unusual opportunity to craft an album together – without ever being in the same room.

Originally conceived as a brief two- or three-song EP, A Closer Distance is the result of a month of seemingly endless and effortless creative connections between Bavota and Acda. Spawned from the opening piano phrase that became the album’s title track, the nine songs that make up A Closer Distance were written and recorded by Bavota and Acda in their respective homes. No stranger to long-distance collaboration ¬– having worked with an array of artists from Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of Low to guitar legend Bill Frisell – even Acda was surprised by the ease and pace with which A Closer Distance came together: “This all came so weirdly natural. It woke up a part of me that had been asleep for a while.”

Mostly built around Bavota’s solitary piano arrangements and Acda’s layered, ethereal vocals, the songs on A Closer Distance reflect the intimacy and tranquility of their conception. It is a magical collection that connects to the listener with the same air of comfort and familiarity that inspired its creation. 

Tracklist

A

  • 1.Connecting Dots02:58
  • 2.Sirens03:38
  • 3.Still I03:06
  • 4.Closeness02:54
  • 5.Slowmotion03:27

B

  • 1.Days Like These03:15
  • 2.Her Eyes02:47
  • 3.Lullaby For Loved Ones03:42
  • 4.Everything Collides03:32

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