Calling Stephan Thelen’s music an extension of the Swiss Minimalist movement may have once seemed appropriate. However, in the years since his band Sonar and Fractal Guitar projects have come to the fore, that characterization has increasingly become inadequate. Proximity, influence, and linkages exist but Thelen’s copious activities in the last decade show such a deepening of his root concepts coupled with an embrace of the new, the notion is virtually moot.
One of the projects that most validates this point is Fractal Sextet, which began after a suggestion was made (to Thelen and frequent collaborator/ guitarist Jon Durant) that an actual band tackle Thelen’s Fractal Guitar vehicles. For the Sextet, Thelen and Durant chose former Porcupine Tree bassist (and Durant collaborator) Colin Edwin, classical pianist and keyboardist Fabio Anile, former Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin percussionist Andi Pupato, and Israeli-born drum phenom Yogev Gabay. Their resulting eponymous debut proved an exciting leap forward for Thelen’s Fractal concept and elicited high hopes for more from this group.
Now with their second album, Sky Full of Hope, the Fractal Sextet makes good on the promise of that debut, further solidifying their collective identity. No sophomore curse here. This album is enhanced by a comfort level and group assuredness that heightens the chemistry so previously palpable, allowing the players to stretch out even more.
