zakè 'Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I' [5xCD Boxset]

A rigid, archival 2 mm chipboard matchbox-style box wrapped in uncoated Kraft stock with black foil stamping on the lid and base. The box contains five black-back, vinyl-effect CDs, each housed in a 2-panel Kraft cardstock jacket with a center hole. Every jacket is hand-stamped in black ink with its corresponding disc number. The complete set is placed in a resealable polybag and hand-assembled by the artist. Boxes produced and printed in the United Kingdom; CDs and jackets imported from Canada. Includes one 35mm vintage color photo slide. Edition of 50.

Produced by zakè. Mastered at Ambient Mountain House by James Bernard and Schwebung Mastering by Stephan Mathieu. Design and layout by zakè. Marketing and distribution, Past Inside the Present. © 2024 Past Inside the Present. ℗ 2024 Past Inside the Present Publishing (BMI). This is PITP-COMP01. All rights reserved.

pastinsidethepresent.com / pitp.us / zakedrone.com

Caelum (No. 2), Caelum (No. 3), Caelum (No. 4), Caelum (No. 1) appears on Caelum (Zakè Drone Recordings, 2025). Denu, Drihten, Leornian, Sorgian appears on Drihten (Zakè Drone Recordings, 2024). Glory, Memorial, Veta appears on Veta (Zakè Drone Recordings, 2024). Ashes Depart, Bestir Thyself, Hearken, House of Light, In Return, Lament for Strings I, Lament for Strings II, Lament for Strings II, Silenzio appears on Orchestral Tape Studies II (Past Inside the Present, 2023). Deep Into The Unknown, Untitled, We Shall Endlessly Roam appears on Deep into the unknown, we shall endlessly roam (Zakè Drone Recordings, 2023). La foi pour demain, Orison, Sacred Silence, Signaling appears on Frizzell & Duque: Orison (Zakè Drone Recordings, 2022). J’ai Vu un Ange, Repos Éternel, Retourner à la Poussière (Boucle d’introduction) appears on orchestre de poussière Zakè Drone Recordings, 2022). A Sorrow Unrequited, Closer, Always Closer, Fragile Dreaming In A Fragile Mind, We Once Believed We Owned The Sky appears on Frizzell & Duque: A Sorrow Unrequited (Zakè Drone Recordings, 2021). Farewell, Genuflect, Motion, Naiima, Prepend, Ruins appears on Orchestral Studies Collectanea (Past Inside the Present, 2020). Infinite Ocean, Pure Violet, Solar, Strata appears on Orchestral Tape Studies (Past Inside the Present, 2019). Additional production on Farewell, Motion, Naiima, and Prepend by Nick Turner (Tyresta). Additional textures and composition on Glory and Memorial by Damien Duque (City of Dawn). String accompaniments on Lament for Strings I-III, by Olivia May (cello), Charlotte Frizzell (viola), and Damien Duque (guitar/bow). Co-production on La foi pour demain, Orison, Sacred Silence, Signaling, A Sorrow Unrequited, Closer, Always Closer, Fragile Dreaming In A Fragile Mind, We Once Believed We Owned The Sky, J’ai Vu un Ange, and Repos Éternel by Damien Duque (City of Dawn). 

◾️◾️◾️ REVIEWS

"A gorgeous compilation comprised of minimalist explorations of high-fidelity sound. Each piece begins with the statement of a simple melody, which repeats throughout as additional layers accumulate, slowly teasing out new melodies. Rather than linger in the imperfections of media, as so many artists who work with repetition tend to do, instead zakè pursues an attention to fidelity that forces them to get the fine details just right. Frizzell has built up an impressive discography, exploring orchestral music in various guises. Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I have moments of melancholy, but more often the steady ebb and flow of sound cultivates a profound sense of meditative stasis. The principle melodies are slow, faintly familiar enough to suggest a sense of nostalgia, but difficult enough to grasp that their steady evolution substitutes for narrative structure.

Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I takes pleasure in soothing textures, avoiding sudden shifts or abrasive sonorities. There is a refined elegance to these tracks, making the runtime feel much shorter. Yet Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I rewards repeat listens, feeling comfortably familiar while always revealing fresh perspectives. A gentle, consonant palette of strings is given depth by the low-end frequencies of a synth. The occasional moments of dissonance bring a slight tension in bright contrast to the mellow synth melodies or plaintive piano marking time.

Frizzell transforms unadorned inputs into beautiful complexity. Rather than developing shifting patterns, the minimalism heard on Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I explores the timbral effects of gradual shifts in density, waves of sound almost imperceptibly carrying the melody from one instrument to another. There is a graceful poetry to the cadence of each track, reminding us that silences are as important to communication as sound."

—Joseph Sannicandro, Sound Propositions // A Closer Listen

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“Fans of slow-evolving orchestral ambience will absolutely love Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I. On this compilation, you will find slowly evolving pieces, manipulated chamber instruments, and reverb saturated pads and swelling bass to compose a symphony of ebbing music. Unlike some undertakings, where artists would sample their classical records and loop through the passages sculpting the sound, the modern classical elements of this record appear to be cleaner and pure. I praise this pristine production, where each instrument finds a home, in a wonderful fusion of ambient, neo-classical, and meditation music. In a closer listening session, intricate layers of sonics blanket the surface of wave-kissing shores; while in a passive attention-softening seance, Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I comforts and lulls.”

—Headphone Commute

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“Haunting, ravishing and profound. This compilation of loop-based orchestral and synth ambient from American zakè sounds like scores for dark, epic films that don’t exist but which somehow, we already know.”

—Ambient Music Guide

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“There has rarely been music as cathartic and soothing as this on our shelves. It's made from drones, field recordings and richly layered movements of fragmented orchestral loops. It is heavily inspired by the sound of the greatest minimalist symphonic composers and orchestras of the last 100 years. It is another adventurous and immersive listen from zakè.

—Juno Records

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"zakè continues his excellent orchestral studies series started in 2012. These arrangements cast symphonic compositional structures inspired by film scores and classical music in a kind of sonic amber through looping, tape processing, and other textural treatments. A wonderful meditative exploration of liminality and tonality and one of the most serene and beautiful albums you could hope to enjoy.”

—Stationary Travels

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“I’m always enthralled by the work of zakè. The ambient/new age composer has spent the last several years building a catalog of forward-thinking, thoughtful, and intellectual albums. This is a group of richly layered movements of fragmented orchestral loops, paying homage to minimalist symphonic composers and orchestras. It is an eye/ear/mind opening sound experience, creating a sort of zoned-out peace, a deep space drift that feels monolithic as it does micro. Orchestral loops, repetition, and a gauzy, overcast feeling overwhelm on this stunning compilation. Accompanied by real strings and guitar/bow, zakè connects to the listener on a spiritual and cosmic level. These songs seem to emanate from a metaphysical orchestra that exists in our minds. These are the sounds of sleep and dream; the soundtrack for the life we lead when we’re on the plane between here and there.

There are moments of joy and hope, like on “Lament For Strings I” and “Lament For Strings II”. They have symphonic weight, while still having a touch of hazy sonic indifference. It’s this engrossing coming together of organic and synthetic. Light and life in musical form. Likewise, “Hearken” begins as almost just a hint of something before blossoming into ambient bliss.

“Silenzio” is darker and more mysterious. “Bestir Thyself” lays heavy with mournful strings and an overcast disposition and a monumental, cinematic presence. “Ashes Depart” has that cinematic heaviness as well, though it feels as if it’s leading us to lighter days. “Lament For Strings III” closes out this journey, lamenting in wavering strings and bringing up the spirit of Tangerine Dream’s Phaedra. The song ends in a fading, gauzy hiss.

zakè continues to evolve his art and compositional magic with collection of orchestral movements. Thinning the lines between ambient and classical, zakè works to bring them all together into something thought-provoking and viscerally and intellectually alive.”

—J. Hubner, Complex Distractions

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“This collection unfolds as a series of striated tones, a slow drift of ambient texture rising from an off-white drone. Frozen harmonies thaw and refreeze, sometimes distant, sometimes near. As the higher chords emerge, the layers seem to melt and ascend. It feels like an orchestral meditation on shifting climates, moving between warmth and cold with quiet grace. A beautiful and restrained work.”

—Toneshift

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“Gracefully & respectfully, zakè has sampled & looped the sounds of several orchestras' quieter passages then deftly adorned them with gentle drones & the faintest of field recordings to wonderfully soothing, minimal, neoclassical & ambient effect. A masterpiece.”
—The Slow Music Movement

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“A wonderful meditative exploration of liminality and tonality and one of the most serene and beautiful albums you could hope to enjoy.”

—Stationary Travels

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"Released on the increasingly influential Past Inside the Present label, Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I is a compilation album curated by zakè. Based on looped orchestral samples, which then incorporate original field recordings and production, Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I is a remarkably meditative record. Pure Violet is classic Tired-era Stars of the Lid; a horn gently blows in the background as strings delicately meld together to form a cohesive whole, while the ominous sound of wind hums beneath. Infinite Ocean is delightful; the violin sounds like it is buried beneath sand but the way the melody curves is joyous. The repetition lulls you in and seems to wrap you in a cocoon of serenity, with the barely audible wisp of wind now only adding to the calm. Combined with how plaintive the strings are, it makes you feel as if you are being talked down from a panic attack, and that the song exists solely to rid you of anxiety. Closing track Stata is perhaps the most complex; this time the violins are more pronounced, the notes sharper and higher – it never strays into disquieting because rather than sounding foreboding, the strings are instead steeped in melancholy. It’s an acutely poignant record of mostly tranquil stylings. Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I is a fascinating compilation, one that feels like an aid to ridding yourself of a 2am anxiety spiral. It’s a record of beauty and poise, and each note feels perfectly placed.”

—All Things Loud