Listen to Kim Perlak and Francisco Mela’s New Album, Recorded in a Single Afternoon

Collaboration is a constant on Berklee's campus, and it doesn't stop with students. Spaces, an album by Kim Perlak, chair of the Guitar Department, and Francisco Mela, associate professor of percussion, is out April 25. 

Spaces was recorded live face-to-face in one afternoon as single takes without edits, and is comprised of four three-movement suites, each one conjuring a vivid portrait of the natural environment. These blossom into intimate duo pieces with the addition of Mela’s improvised percussion. The final piece, “Squam Suite,” is a wholly improvised work, revealing the chemistry discovered by Perlak and Mela in a short time.

The two faculty members first performed together in 2022 as part of a tribute to guitarist and educator Mick Goodrick. Shortly after, Mela approached Perlak about playing her music. “I have so much respect and admiration for Mela,” Perlak said. “I didn't even think about it—I immediately said yes. He made me feel so comfortable and natural about it that I forgot to be nervous.”

While they might seem an odd musical pairing—Perlak comes from a classical guitar background and Mela is known for improvisational jazz percussion—the result is magical. "Francisco Mela and I are of different generations, different backgrounds, from different countries. We play two styles that are often seen as opposing. . . . There wasn’t one person on the floor of either of our departments that wasn’t completely surprised that we were forming a duo!" Perlak said. "This project would never have come about if we didn’t care about one another.“

She hopes that Spaces inspires others to "take a risk" and create something outside their comfort zone with someone who might be of a different genre or style. The power of personal connection, she said, is even more important in the digital age of solitude and separation.

"Mela and I create space for each other and then we find space in the music,” she said. “Playing together has been a freeing experience. Each time we get together, it's almost like we've started to communicate even before we start to play. The moment we see each other, we instantly enter a listening mode.”

The Berklee connection doesn't stop at Mela and Perlak. Randy Roos ’78, a Latin Grammy–winning engineer and faculty member, created a custom set up in his New Hampshire studio to allow for this through-composed, real-time collaboration, with the engineer situated in the room with the performers. This rare type of recording allows the artists and the engineer to communicate fully, and puts the listener in the center of the ensemble. Though it's possible improvised, single-take albums may become more popular; André 3000's 2023 project New Blue Sun topped Billboard's New Age chart in its first week.

Inspired by nature, “Lake,” “Stream,” and “Riverwalk” were originally solo guitar pieces composed by Perlak. “Lake” was written during a family vacation in a waterfront cottage in central Massachusetts, while “Stream” makes reference to an actual stream flowing trough the Berkshires as well as the stream of consciousness that wends from the water into the composer’s imagination. “Riverwalk” was Perlak’s first-ever composition, sparked by regular strolls along the Charles River. "Squam Suite" was spontaneously co-composed and inspired by the lake view outside Roos' recording studio.

Space is a natural theme in Spaces—both in the music and improvisational style, but also in the way the recording makes space for each artist, the engineer, and the listener to come together. It brings the audience out of their daily lives and into the experience, Perlak said. 

"I also think it serves as a symbol to students to make space for one another in many different ways," she said. "I can’t think of a better reflection of Berklee's values than that!"

Listen to Spaces below: