Caterina Barbieri’s and Bendik Giske’s sonic signatures are unmistakable. Barbieri convinces through precise modular sequences, endless arpeggios and slowly mutating patterns, while Giske excels with physical, extended saxophone playing. These worlds first touched in 2021 on Fantas Variations; later, both developed the material further live during a joint tour.
It is precisely from this backstory that At Source draws its tension: the EP does not document a mere encounter, but a process in which both artists jointly strive towards a spherical, almost meditative cosmos. Barbieri and Giske gather four hypnotic, expansive compositions on At Source. Both remain audible as distinct forces – two individual art forms that complement one another beautifully.
On »Intuition, Nimbus«, Giske’s fluttering, overblown waves rise above Barbieri’s slowly densifying synthesiser surfaces. The electronic layers provide support; the saxophone moves vividly through the spherical space. On »Alignment, Orbits«, this relationship becomes even more concrete: Giske’s key noises and gentle percussion bring rhythmic momentum, until acoustic gestures and electronic patterns can barely be separated. »Impatience, Magma« once again invites Barbieri’s sharply contoured synthesisers and Giske’s lamenting saxophone into a weightless duet, while »Persistence, Buds« carries this tension into a quieter, tactile close.
