"Manuella Blackburn’s work brilliantly embodies the vivid side of modern acousmatic music. This first disc of the Manchester-based British composer will keep the listener’s mind awake from the first to the last second. One will find dynamic works where the discourse is articulated with incredible finesse. Each element is precisely organized within complex timbre structures of great clarity. Each piece is based on sound materials carefully selected and delicately processed: from the electric guitar, to electronic switches to traditional musical instruments. In these bursts of sound remains an emphasis on pitch, uttering a reference to tonal musical history, keeping the listener drawn into the singular narrative of a frankly lively work."
"True to its title, Manuella Blackburn’s latest collection of works, Petites étincelles, is a dazzlingly sparkling album. The listening experience is like a trip into Blackburn’s Sonic Chocolate Factory where the listener receives a Golden-Ticket guided tour into the inner playground of a sitar, a tall glass of fizzy drink with large floating ice cubes, an old Kodak Brownie camera, a ticking clock, and a slide down the strings of a sarod into a warm pool haloed in light at its exit."
