Chantal Acda and Bruno Bavota – A Closer Distance

Temporary Residence

Regular Temporary Residence artist and intimate pianist Bruno Bavota met Dutch singer songwriter Chantal Acda some years ago, but immediately figured that their respective styles would make for a significant collaboration.

As is often the case over the last few years, the pandemic intervened and forced them into their respective studios, but allowed for some inward artistic development; so the duo decided to prepare tracks separately and bounce them across the continent.

Considering the physical distance, they have managed to evoke an atmosphere of intimacy and measure with only voice and piano in most cases; and due to the lyrical nature and Chantal’s warm tones, A Closer Distance never descends into melancholy.

The basic premise of Bruno’s spare, repetitive but constantly moving motifs and Chantal’s voice, a quavering arrow from the soul, is always delightful. They are gentle but somehow speak to the heart, demanding attention as dust motes are reflected in the light sparkling in both studios. You have the feeling that their communication was such that they could have been recording simultaneously whilst separated by miles, such is the obvious connection.

Chantal’s voice is a thing of closeness and understanding, and her ability to layer different lines, shimmering over one another, even adding in a vocal drone in places, means that she often takes up more of the mix than the piano, filling the space with thoughtful and heartening observations of personal connection. The intimacy is often heightened by the peripheral knocks and creaks of the piano, an oddly engaging rhythm.

Bruno also plays guitar on a few tracks, merging seamlessly with the piano as it builds the momentum on “Sirens”. It is this momentum that prevents the pieces on A Closer Distance being bogged down into introspection. They travel at a measured pace, always edging around the kind of torpor that can affect piano and voice duos, and the intimacy and warmth always shines through. You can feel the air move around them and it is interesting to think that the ambience of one room becomes part of the recording that is being sent to another to have a whole other ambience added.

There is a little observational sadness here and there, but the piano never allows it to be weighed down and it is worth noting that Chantal can change the vocal delivery depending on the track’s need, her duetting often sounding like two very different characters. The style is neither jazz nor folk, but something fresh they have conspired to create and is about what brings two people together, sometimes in adversity and sometimes in joy. It may be all over in half an hour, but the end result is enchanting.

-Mr Olivetti-