On Suns of the Heart, Colin Fisher reimagines the boundaries between live improvisation and studio sorcery, shaping a collection that feels at once spontaneous and meticulously curated. Crafted alongside producer-engineer David Psutka, Fisher’s process interweaves layered guitar and treated percussion with lush electronics, generating forms that oscillate between clarity and abstraction. The album, recorded in Toronto and released by We Are Busy Bodies in July 2024, signals both a continuation of Fisher’s exploratory arc and a bold new realization of his collaborative creativity.
Each track operates as a microcosm—acts of gentle distortion, fleeting melodic gestures, and spectral rhythmic pulses inhabit the opening “Acts of Light,” already presaging the album’s thematic richness. The guitar improvisations, particularly on pieces like “Deus Absconitus” and “Mudial Imaginalis,” harness extended techniques and live sampling, blurring the lines between instrument and atmosphere. Psutka’s engineering emphasizes both separation and cohesion; sounds are looped, mutated, and sometimes left exposed, fostering moments of deep immersion that never settle into complacency. This careful negotiation between raw performance and studio craft defines the album’s vitality: it remains unhurried and open, each layer animated by curiosity rather than virtuosity.
The philosophical underpinning draws loosely on metaphysical ideas, notably the writings of Henry Corbin, with an emphasis on illumination, inner worlds, and the elusive spaces between lived experience and spiritual reflection. Yet this is never foregrounded—Fisher’s music prefers suggestion over explanation, captivating through texture and mood, not didactics. Fretless guitar, saxophone, keys, and noise elements all serve a broader narrative of ongoing transformation and attention to the unforeseen. Suns of the Heart stands out in Fisher’s catalogue for its emotional candor and formal ingenuity, balancing gentle abstraction with assertive sonic statement. Ultimately, the album is a space of fragile affirmation—where ensemble interplay, temporal manipulation, and ambient warmth coexist. Fisher’s voice as a composer and improviser echoes the best traditions of experimental jazz, maintaining humility, fluidity, and a refusal to be hemmed in by expectation. Suns of the Heart rewards repeated listening; it invites reflection, movement, and maybe even a measure of illumination.
