Derek Gripper is known for his in-depth studies and re-imaginings of both salient and obscure Capecentric folk musics, from Vastrap and Ghoema to more hybrid regional dialects and pidgin musics. He is also known as an advocate of understatement, his musical phrases often couched in, highlighted by, or else just enjoying the company of, silence. Silences of various persuasion. Gripper understands silence. I won’t be surprised if he has several personal words referring to its various shades and moods, like the Ennuit have for snow. 2011′s The Sound Of Water is more of a departure, or a step to the side, than its title implies. For one, Gripper’s music is less pensive than before, there is a shimmering rhythm behind even the placid cuts. It also draws on a new stylistic palette, alternating original compositions with reworkings of compositions by Brazilian master Egberto Gismonti. But it is the SOUND above all that is new; it is fullsome, voluminous compared to his usual timbres. Good stuff – the sound of Derek Gripper letting his hair down.
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