Faces
2026
The debut album of the Kravchenko-Clees duo impresses with its open clarity. The distinctive instrumentation of voice and vibraphone opens up unexplored terrain. "Faces" confronts listeners with freedom, intimacy, and meticulous attention to detail. Particular space is given to the musical settings of poems by Ukrainian poet and activist Vasyl Stus, whose decisive texts align well with the duo's integral, transparent atmospheres. Vibraphone and voice nestle against each other like comfortingly soft cat paws. Both instruments suit each other very well due to their similar range and their immediacy. The duo skillfully resists the lurking kitsch of the vibraphone and expands its instrumentation in places to include church organ. The album is released on Unit Records, produced by Wanja Slavin. From poems and metaphors, Kateryna Kravchenko and Arthur Clees together develop fragile, fleeting sonic structures with voice and vibraphone. Delicate melodies and shadings unfold like the petals of a flower. Driven by their shared search for identity, they explore their innermost selves and the world around them. Pure, crystal clear, and without a safety net. The Kravchenko Clees Duo carries traditions into the present and in doing so, reveals emotions, associations, and layers of meaning. In 2023, Kateryna Kravchenko with roots in Ukraine and Arthur Clees from Luxembourg met and founded their duo. From the beginning, mutual trust was an important constant that shines through in their improvised music in every melodic line, chord break, or turn. With gentle independence, Kravchenko and Clees formulate flowing compositions full of quintessence. (c) Sophie Beha
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