Oblivion Seekers

To be attuned to the world as it is, is to be steeped in language. Speech resonates in nearly every space where humans are found, whether desired or not, mundane or profound. Words pile up on the page and echo in the ear, proliferating endlessly. This overabundance has long fascinated composer and musician Ben Vida, but in recent years, it has given rise to a new method of musical creation that simultaneously exalts and questions the primacy of language in our sonic and cultural environments. With gentleness and mischief, Vida deconstructs the hierarchy of language's meaning and sound until they coexist in an egalitarian harmony. Oblivion Seekers is Vida's latest album in this compositional mode, following his 2023 collaboration with contemporary music ensemble Yarn/Wire, The Beat My Head Hit. Like its predecessor, this album focuses on coordinated, spoken duets, delivered in a neutral tone. The varying cadences of the words in motion create complex internal rhythmic structures. He is joined by the voices of Nina Dante, Christina Vantzou, John Also Bennett, and Félicia Atkinson, creating a singular sound that is neither theirs nor his, fluid in its expression of gender, accent, and diction. The instrumental compositions that form the album's backdrop have the natural flow of a dialogue, conversational yet understated, rarely a driver of change. Here too, Vida has enlisted an ensemble of accomplished musicians to accompany him: Dante on harp, Bennett on bass flute, Matt Bauder and Will Epstein on saxophones, Henry Fraser on bass, Cleek Schrey on violin, and Booker Stardrum on percussion. These elements form lattice-like structures through which the text weaves, often leaning on strong beats, but moving freely within each melodic phrase. A serene atmosphere emerges, enhanced by the restrained rhythm of the voices, giving the impression of music that unfolds like a long mantra without ever truly returning to its starting point. The effect is mesmerizing and captivating, suggesting repetition without ever repeating itself identically. The instrumentation varies on each of the album's four tracks; "Be Yr Own Abyss" is defined by the undulating counterpoint of saxophones, while the ambiguous chime of the vibraphone hovers over "Oblivion Seekers" and Fraser's powerful bass provides the album's only dramatic entry. The music metamorphoses to the ear, the text constantly redefining and recontextualizing the composition's form and movement, all while maintaining an aura of unearthly beauty. The text often draws from snippets of words Vida has encountered throughout his life, as he composed: murmurs heard in the supermarket line, striking phrases from a novel he was reading, impressions from the m

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