Is there anything out there that can be dubbed as vocal ambient (pop)?
Sure there is, but not many artists taking that route could answer that question that well. Still, maybe the duo (at least for this project, hopefully, there will be more) that goes under the name of Best Fern, and its album Earth Then Air does give a good answer to that question.
Both Alexia Avina and Nick Scofield who comprise Best Fern, have made music that stands quite well in its own right, but here they seem not only to follow the tradition set back in the seventies with Brian Eno’s solo ‘vocal’ albums but attempt and achieve some audible advancements with this musical concept.
Avian and Schofield recorded the collection of delicately balanced songs while in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity.
Usually, most music projects coming from this type of secluded artist community tend to be of high-brow modern classical or avant-garde jazz type, but the duo went a completely different route. Well, almost.
Throughout the album, it is pretty obvious that both Avina and Schofield are both well-versed in both classical and jazz music, but what they did is pin those backgrounds within their pop and ambient sensibilities making music that is at the same time melodic and easy to take in while still weaving in complex musical elements so characteristic of modern jazz and classical music. More, please.
