John Bence by Amelia Gilmartin
British composer and producer John Bence shares glorious new single “Tzadkiel, Archangel of Chesed” from the upcoming album Archangels (out Feb. 24th). “Tzadkiel Archangel of Chesed” reduces the album’s orchestral grandeur and electronic textures to delicate piano chords suspended in air. Notes reverberate through imagined sacred spaces, radiating palpable emotion rendered in stark minimalism. The title refers to the angel Tzadkiel, a figure known in mystical Christianity and Judaism, who brings transformation on all levels. Chesed is a sphere on the Kabbalah Tree of Life. If you are feeling stuck in life this archangel helps you move on to be strong yet compassionate to yourself and others.
John Bence employs music as a tangible expression of the immaterial. The British composer’s visceral and spiritual sound world probes the metaphysical. Raised in Bristol’s burgeoning underground electronic music scene and a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Bence manages to employ compositional complexity to manifest potent emotions. Gregorian chant, orchestral arrangements, rippling synthesizers and field recordings are equally at home in his music. Archangels is a compelling addition to contemporary composition by an artist unbound by classical traditions.
John Bence has announced select special shows in the U.K. and Germany, performing at the Cube Cinema in Bristol on February 24th and Silent Green in Berlin on March 9th. More festival dates and shows to be announced.
