An experimental ambient album inspired by the writings of Gabriel García Márquez, Foretold is a showcase in creative atmospheric appeal from tttc. Short for trang trại trái cây (fruit farm), the project represents the music of Vietnam-based jazz musician and guitarist Nguyen Anh, who crafted the entire album on his own. Field recordings and free improvisation complement Anh’s creative production and appreciation for Marquez’s literary influence.
“summer of happiness” opens the album with ample intrigue. Bird-chirping provides a bright flutter, while an eerie combination of wispy textures and string-laden foreboding concoct an otherworldly engrossment. “the dream of birds and trees” follows with a more spaciously trickling momentum; Anh utilized the sounds of his daughter’s toy within the background rattling, while the concise synth stabs strut a wintry allure. The conclusion features a whirring uptick in arpeggiated intensity, concluding a decisive one-two punch to commence Foretold.
The first two tracks’ more vibrant field recordings — birds and a children’s toy — are in relative contrast to “monologue,” where the sound of rain pit-pattering makes for a tranquilly meditative setting. The subsequent “drowned” brings back the inventive use of instrumentation within recordings, specifically in the utilization of water sounds with ukulele. Bubbling water and plucky strums combine for an artful sense of momentum. Taking inspiration from Marquez’s 1968 short story “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” — and its small fishing village setting, centered around memories following death — “drowned” is another clinic in atmosphere.
Its title in reference to two characters from Marquez’s 1981 novella Chronicle of a Death Foretold, “Vicario brothers” infuses sporadic clanging and unsettling movements; it’s an apt audible inspiration from a novella whose themes surround vengeance, murder, and village-wide complicity in these acts. “the dream of birds and trees” also takes influence from the novella, succeeding as well in its sparser lushness; the eclectic range of Marquez’s writings are audibly represented by various tonal pursuits within Foretold.
A nocturnal synth layering on “enormous wings” stirs with its chilly mystique, while “eyes of blue dog” casts a ghostly folk glow in its beautiful, jazzy acoustics. These lead into the satiating finale “bon voyage,” which comprises three field recordings — the first near the artist’s apartment at night, the second at an exhibition held near his town, and the third his footsteps. Anh describes the finale as “something like a joyful goodbye,” — which feels fitting, as the sounds of footsteps combine with whistling and cricket-chirping for a blissful nighttime allure. An atmospheric and thematic success, Foretold is a riveting album from tttc.
