Project XII / Christina Vantzou – Siren III

Project XII continues this month with “Siren III” by Brussel-based composer Christina Vantzou, released today, coinciding with Vantzou’s birthday.

Christina Vantzou wrote: “An intuitive feeling of working with an opera singer to create the sound of a siren grew inside my thoughts throughout 2019. I also found poetry in the double meaning of the word. Working from my home studio in Brussels in the late hours, I often hear distant sirens and I noticed myself tuning into these sounds rather than tuning them out. I started to enjoy their contribution to whatever I was listening to at home and began to hear them as pieces in and of themselves, bringing together thoughts of mythology, war, and sine waves.”

Sirens III is written for synthesizers and soprano voice and was recorded in Brussels, Belgium. The voice was performed by Lieselot De Wilde inside the echo room of Jet Studio. The synthesizers were performed, recorded, and mixed by John Also Bennett in my home studio during the first days of the COVID−19 pandemic lockdown.

Christina Vantzou was born in Kansas City, Missouri, has Greek origins and lives in Brussels, Belgium.  A composer & experimental filmmaker, she works with space, sound, and image on a level of curiosity and refinement.

Her music deals with time expansion, atmospheres and harmonies through electronics and acoustic instruments. Vantzou has composed and released four albums of ambient-classical music on Kranky and has developed a form of graphic musical notation influenced by abstract minimalism. Her personal and unique musical language is interpreted by a revolving cast of collaborators.

Siren III is released today and is available to stream via our Project XII playlist