Elliot Cole’s “Journals (Vol. 1)”

10/03/2021

A review of Elliot Cole’s “Journals (Vol. 1)” release.

“Journals (Vol. 1),” the astonishingly beautiful collection of music composed and produced by Elliot Cole, is deeply moving and inspirational.

The gorgeous sounds of guitar and cello curl around each other as they blend and harmonize, counter and extend themes of melancholy, passion and peace.

There’s a lot spice here, too, in the “Papakata” especially, with undertones of Medieval and Renaissance music and more than a little Gaelic.

Elliot Cole is an expert in all these musical disciplines. H is on faculty at Juilliard teaching advanced composition and music production. In addition, he’s taught Ableton and SuperCollider. So, he’s clearly a man of expansive taste. He has also designed and coded Movements, a VR gestural instrument, for the Currents new media festival in Santa Fe. Also, Elliot produces electronic music and he is currently a doctoral researcher in algorithmic composition at Princeton University.

Yet, how on earth he has the time for all of this is a wonder to me! But, I am very grateful that he has.

Elliot Cole’s “Journals (Vol. 1)” is beyond gorgeous. Spiritual, uplifting, intensely light in fact, if that is possible. It brings you to a place of divinity almost and then pushes it outward, spiralling on and on in ever increasing circles of musical joy.

Simple and complex, “Journals” allows us a glimpse into Elliot Cole’s world of wonder. He leads the music but you can also sense his commitment to collaboration, with the brilliant musicians he gifts us. Jordan Dodson on the guitar and Gabriel Cabezas on cello. They breathe the life into his creations and, as he gives them the space to do that, he gives us the privilege of the witness. I love this record. Sometimes, as a writer I am able to discover magical things that I probably would otherwise have never found. This is one of those precious times and I am beyond grateful. Truly…