After the warm reception of their first collaborative album, pianist Bruno Bavota and vocalist/composer Chantal Acda felt a quiet but undeniable pull to continue the journey they had begun together. What started as a spontaneous musical dialogue has grown into a deeper partnership; one rooted in trust, intuition, and a shared devotion to the emotional core of sound.

For this new chapter, the duo stepped into the studio together for the first time, choosing to shape the music side by side rather than far apart, as was the case with their first album. They invited legendary engineer Phill Brown, renowned for his work with Talk Talk, Mark Hollis, and a constellation of other boundary-pushing artists to help capture the fragility, space, and raw honesty that define their collaboration. Brown’s unmistakable sensitivity to atmosphere became an essential part of the album’s sonic architecture.

To expand their palette even further, Bavota and Acda opened the doors to a small circle of like-minded musicians whose voices naturally complement their own: Adam Wiltzie (A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Stars of the Lid), Gerd Van Mulders, Beatrijs de Klerck, and Niels Van Heertum.

Their contributions move gently through the record: brass, strings, textures, and drones that never overwhelm, but instead illuminate the quiet spaces where Bavota and Acda’s music breathes.

The result is an album that feels both intimate and expansive, grounded in the delicate interplay of piano and voice yet broadened by the subtle orchestration surrounding them. It is a record about presence: two artists meeting in the same room, listening deeply, and allowing others to join their conversation.

Released by Challenge Records, the album ‘Safer Places’ marks a meaningful evolution in Bavota and Acda’s collaboration. An album that resonates with the beauty of connection, the weight of silence, and the courage to let sound unfold in its own time.