Masayuki Koito for The Walker’s magazine


Title: Yelena Eckemoff’s latest two-disc album
Her previous album “Nocturnal Animals” was also an exceptional work, and the latest album by Yelena Eckemoff, a pianist, composer, poet, and visual artist from Moscow, is a 2-CD set containing 11 songs. The title of this album is unique, but the cover, created by Yelena herself, is very special.
In this work, in addition to piano and keyboards, Yelena also plays Fender Rhodes on “Truth in His Heart” (Disk 1,) “The Wine of Astonishment” and “At Midnight I Will Rise” (Disk 2). The last track on disk 2, “Every Beast of The Field,” is a 19-minute epic with an interesting arrangement.
Orignal Japanese:
エレーナ・エケモフの最新2枚組アルバム
前作『ノクターン・アニマルズ』もユニークな作品だったが、モスクワ出身のピアニスト、コンポーザー、詩人、ヴィジュアル・アーティストでもあるエレーナ・エケモフの最新作は11曲を収めた2枚組アルバム。今作のタイトルもユニークだが、エレーナ自身が手掛けたジャケットがとてもユニーク。
本作ではエレーナがピアノとキーボード以外に、disk1の『Truth in His Heart』、disk2の『The Wine of Astonishment』、『 At Midnight I Will Rise』、でフェンダーローズも披露している。Disk2のラスト、アルバムの最後を飾るナンバー『Every Beast of The Field』は約19分にも及ぶ大作でアレンジも面白い。
The latest work of Russian-American pianist Yelena, who was born in Moscow. She started playing the piano at the age of four, at the same time she also started to compose music. She studied classical piano at the Moscow State Conservatory. She decides to move to the US when she was 20 because she was fascinated with jazz music. She moved to North Carolina in 1991. In 2010, she released “Cold Sun” and became active in jazz music scene. The newest release is themed based on botany/ plants as shown on her cover art. She’s focused on natural plants and flowers and expressed the vitality of plants life and their communication. The recording was made in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, with some of the best local players. 18 songs in a 2-disc set were recorded, and the titles of the songs seem to be tied with the perspective of plants and their relationship, and it is interesting to listen to each song and enjoy the sound thinking of the plants.