A lot of Refractions, Vol. 1 from musician Jake Allen and painter Jennifer Mann hinges on their shared bond of synesthesia, a situation that enables people to expertise their senses in a blended trend – i.e. sure sounds are related to sure colours. Shortly after their first assembly, Allen and Mann started experimenting along with her portray visible interpretations of Allen’s instrumentals, and he started composing different items in response to her different works. These endeavors are collected in a ten-track outing dubbed Refractions, Vol. 1 – a launch in contrast to any you’ve seemingly ever encountered. 

URL: https://www.jakeallenmusic.com/

This doesn’t imply it’s inaccessible or lacks the capability to entertain. Jake Allen proves that he has near-virtuosic abilities as a musician whereas by no means forgetting that melody, that elusive white whale that any songwriter value their salt seeks to snare, might be a key part to making sure his work with Mann has real endurance. 

“Diamond” opens the gathering and harbors plenty of sound and fury Nonetheless, it soars because of Allen’s penchant for melody. They’re grand, winding passages that thrust skyward, filled with well-defined edges just like the shapes in Mann’s portray, and he approximates the swirl of coloration splattered throughout her canvas. Artwork novices might take a look at her work and see a rush of coloration with out rhyme or cause. The attuned eye will react favorably by judging the music and picture collectively, 

The creative partnership of Allen and Mann is enthusiastically various. The second observe “Aquamarine” backs away from the rousing content material of the previous observe. A lot of the association is muted in comparison with “Diamond”, however Allen can’t resist punctuating the efficiency with dynamic rhythmic shifts and extra hovering electrical guitar. Mann’s portray has extra settled qualities than “Diamond”, however flaring passions are by no means removed from the floor. 

Regardless of the progressive affect heard from these tracks, Allen maintains a manageable compositional size. “Tiger’s Eye” runs rather less than six minutes lengthy. It offers him ample room to develop musical concepts complementary to Mann’s portray. She makes use of yellow in a a lot bolder trend than earlier work allowed, and the marked distinction between “Tiger’s Eye” and its predecessors is notable. 

“Lapis Lazuli” is one among Mann’s most eye-catching visible compositions. She doesn’t depict motion in a swirl a lot as currents, by no means fastened. The abundance of blue and inexperienced contrasts properly with its smattering of yellow, pink, and white. Allen’s musical contributions comply with the identical near-orchestral template defining different tracks. He varies his tempo and begins from a low-key place earlier than transitioning into full-throttle guitar-driven progressive rock. 

Allen and Mann alike shift gears with “Obsidian”. Nonetheless, the shift is extra pronounced for the latter as she makes use of black greater than ever earlier than and brings the opposite brighter colours to extra vivid life in distinction. The marginally downcast melody within the opening units the stage for all that follows, however that isn’t readily obvious with a primary pay attention. Refractions, Vol. 1 has a normal musical formulation that Allen adheres to. Nonetheless, he’s prepared to feint, and by no means reveals us the identical precise face from observe to trace. It’s a spectacular work, by any measure, and begs for a number of listens to totally perceive its depths. 

Mindy McCall