Field recordings are generally made outside, in the (more or less) great wide open, and only rarely inside a building, such as a house. On Four Rooms, Toronto-based composer Juliet Palmer brings the two modes together, moving back and forth between them, sometimes blending them into surrealist soundscapes. This experience is enhanced by Ayelet Rose Gottlieb vocalizing and singing in a ruminating mood, and by electronic treatments of the recorded sounds. Water is a recurring element. This album paints three clearly defined spaces of a home: a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. These are connected by stairs, presumably representing the fourth room, but also transition stages between states of mind. It is on the stairs that the intermingling of inside and outside is most apparent. At times it is as if you climb or descend through streets and Metro stations from one room to the next in the house. Outdoor frenzy brings you to spaces of relative peace and quiet, with everyday activities like making coffee or taking a bath. The latter, by the way, is followed by Gottlieb singing a composition that Palmer wrote for her, A fish transformed. The text, written by the singer, tells of the deep connection between humans and water, reminding us that for the most part, we are water. At barely a half-hour in length, Four Rooms is a journey that takes you through a variety of spaces, both exterior and interior, both physically and metaphorically. Worth an extended visit.
