Nebel lang - Chapters
Recorded in 2018 at Un temps un lieu
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
CD Packaging design by Daniel Crossley
Released by Fluid Audio
Released September 30, 2019
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SOLD OUT
Made by hand:
• 1 x Vintage hardback clothbound books (circa 1860-1950)
• 30-40 Pages of writing held in place with book-binding screws
• 9 x A7 Prints1 x Library card
• 2 x stamped CD and vintage book-marks
• Stamped / hand-numbered / scented
• All rests inside stitched / sealed wax bags
• Download code
• Limited to 100 copies
Label notes
Fragility is at the heart of Chapters, an album of homespun piano soundscapes. The music is capable of breaking hearts. There’s a delicate feeling to its grove of notes, their glass-like tones appearing as clear and transparent sounds of quiet humility, youthful with flushes of wild beauty, but these sounds are all the more delicate thanks to their beautiful appearances. They’re easily breakable, and good looks only go so far. Physical appearances continue to alter with every new sunset, whereas a good heart never ages. Chapters seems to age as it progresses, a natural trajectory that passes through the higher tempo of childhood and ends with the slower walk of the elderly. The difference in mood and tempo is quite a shock, but the shift is gradual.
Life is fragile. Relationships are fragile, too. One moment, all is well. A second later, everything can come crashing down, so Chapters chooses to embrace the moment: it's music for the moment, living in the present. People come in and out of our lives. Some stay for a long time. Others are there for a mere season. They’re all a part of different chapters. These notes understand, admire, and respect the fact. The delicate nature results in a deeper listening experience; they won't be around forever.
Free-flowing melodies pour out of the piano. The music isn’t created – it’s already there, in the silence, waiting to be ushered out by way of unrestricted-yet-controlled improvisation. These notes are carried with care, and they dry up the deeper we go, until, in the penultimate piece, a chasm of silence stretches out between the notes. Perhaps this chapter marks one of remembrance, or perhaps it lies in a slumber of perpetual mourning. It has the power to leave you in a mess. But like gaps in dialogue and lulls between good friends, these silences are comfortable. From the opening excitable flurry (a musical courtship) to a finale of rest (an ending), its heart has never stopped caring.
Reviews
PadraigC This album brings much comfort. Stunning piano playing, delicate, wisp-like at times.
The release notes heart-felt and beautiful.