ERWAN KERAVEC - Whitewater

Erwan Keravec is one of the great masters of the Scottish bagpipe, known for his collaboration with Mats Gustaffson in the duo Luft. A custodian of tradition but also an innovator, he is bold in weaving minimalism together with the sound of the bagpipe.
It was Terry Riley and his album “In C” that provided the Breton musician's first reinterpretation; then it was Philip Glass's turn to be the author plundered and reinvented for the excellent “8 Sonneurs Pour Philip Glass”.

“Whitewater” is an adventurous work written by Keravec himself: three long compositions that favor experimentation over accessibility and easy listening. Harsh and dense, the Breton musician's lengthy sonic odysseys were conceived for the Mind Travels project, a collection of albums inspired by the photographs of Francis Meslet; a work that, rather than contemplative, sounds immersive, often bold and bordering on emotional suggestion.
It's an extreme, at times unsettling trance that Keravec stages from the very first notes of “Increase The Flow Rate”, eighteen minutes that draw on the allure of the cold waters in the cover photo to conjure up a storm, a whirlwind of innovative, unconventional sonorities. Arabesque-like notes keep the tension high on “Until The Swirl Appears”, and in the few pauses amid the bagpipe's shrill sound one can almost glimpse a bird in flight searching for a place to rest its weary wings: the percussive textures vanish, giving way to a stretching-out of notes reminiscent of the sound of an enchanting, beguiling siren.

Delicate and soothing, the closing track “Leeshore” stays true to a musical project devoid of compromises and clichés. “Whitewater” is undoubtedly a challenging work for much of the audience, but incredibly rich in pregnant, bold musical ideas: a cathartic sonic experience that is never superfluous.

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27/07/2026