Evening Of Light Cloudscape #2 : May 2010 by Evening Of Light on Mixcloud

Playlist with starting times [...]]]>

Evening Of Light Cloudscape #2 : May 2010 by Evening Of Light on Mixcloud

Playlist with starting times in parentheses:

1. (00:07)
United Bible Studies – The Swallowing
from: The Jonah (2009)

2. (3:38)
Inalonelyplace – Little Black Heart
from: Unrequited Creatures of Beauty (2009)

3. (5:46)
The Driftwood Manor – The Lasting Final Hurt
from: The Same Figure, Leaving (2010)

4. (8:40)
Richard Skelton – Green Withins Brook
from: Landings (2009)

5. (12:38)
Woodpecker Wooliams – In Your Mouth
from: Diving Down (2009)

6. (17:08)
:Golgatha: & Dawn & Dusk Entwined – The Messiah
from: Sang Graal (2008)

7. (22:29)
Karjalan Sissit - Har Du Horat Runt På Campingen?
from: Fucking Whore Society (2009)

8. (26:23)
Richard Moult – Swaermian
from: Ethe (2010)

9. (33:57)
Xenis Emputae Travelling Band – Chapel of Infinite Echo
from: The Hieroglyphic Mountain (2004)

10. (48:57)
Skepticism – The Falls
from: Lead and Aether (1997)

detailed info: discogs.com

In the barren days of the present many of us look around for art that is serious without being pretentious; that is beautiful without being kitsch; that is challenging without being alienating; that is autonomous without [...]]]> artist: Richard Moult
release: Ethe
format: CD
year of release: 2010
label: Deadslackstring
duration: 53:26

detailed info: discogs.com

In the barren days of the present many of us look around for art that is serious without being pretentious; that is beautiful without being kitsch; that is challenging without being alienating; that is autonomous without being egotistical; that is melancholy without being self-indulgent. And we usually look in vain, because such art is no longer wanted in the modern market place where art itself has become a branch of the entertainment industry, designed to elicit shallow responses and provoke false outrage. In this cultural desert, the seeker after true art will see the work of the English composer and painter Richard Moult as a welcome oasis.

Richard’s new album, Ethe, is one musical manifestation of a wider project that also encompasses poetry and painting. This new phase represents something of a departure from Richard’s earlier work. As a painter his mature work began with a series of landscapes, mostly of the Welsh Marches. These works conveyed such a lucid apprehension of the landscape that they seemed to be direct expressions of the essence of the natural world, rather than mere depictions of it. They conveyed to the viewer something of the secret soul of nature as experienced and mediated by the artist in his relationship with his environment. In these paintings the world of nature was not some external thing that the artist tried to frame, or master; instead she was an intimate ally who was worshipped.

Increasingly, figures began to appear in the landscapes: birds; young girls; statues; foxes. And then, as these elements began to form a coherent and unique artistic perspective, there came the appearance of some surreal and idiosyncratic devices: figures formed in the clouds; sinister children dressed in outdated clothing. Throughout all of these explorations there was a strong sense of style and vision that remained consistent. Whatever the subject matter, there was always a clarity to the execution of the work and an accessibility of form that made the paintings come alive.

A few years ago this carefully developed style was put aside and the mysterious Ethe paintings began to appear. These pictures seemed to signal a complete break from what had gone before. Abstract, dark, and formless, the Ethe paintings suggested that the artist was retreating completely into a world of interior symbolism, and that the clarity of vision that had applied itself so successfully to the world of nature would now be turned inwards. The Ethe paintings are dark, cloudlike, with the occasional leakage of light pouring through. Where before sunlight had burst through clouds with violence and passion, seeding nature with its life giving power, now the light is dim, unclear, muted. In these new paintings, the clouds are dark and oppressive, the light, fugitive and weak. And beyond the interplay of the cold light and the cold darkness, there is nothing; no hint of landscape, no grounding in any recognisable imagery. What is clear from the Ethe paintings is that we are no longer dealing with art which attempts to mediate the artist’s vision through a shared landscape; these are raw and primal expressions of desolation.

Similarly, the album, Ethe, represents a new musical direction. Many of Richard’s previous compositions had been settings of poems in the song tradition of composers such as Schubert, Fauré and Finzi. These songs, many of which were settings of Mary Webb poems, were all composed with the intention of allowing the music to be subservient to the poetry. The role of the composer was to allow the inherent musicality of the poetry to express itself. In this sense, these were very conservative compositions. They eschewed modern conventions and refused to be platforms for the composer’s own intellectual ideas, or ego. But despite (or perhaps, because of) the conventional form these songs took, they were small masterpieces that were capable of conveying great emotional feeling through their melodies. Despite the superficially “old-fashioned” style, these were songs that could communicate directly with the listener because the musical vision was expressed with such clear intent and focused eloquence. Part of this eloquence consisted in the accessibility of the melodies which provided such a pleasing and appropriate reflection of the poetry’s form. With Ethe, this convention of form has disappeared.

The new phase was presaged with the release of the two limited edition CDs, Suite for Titouan and Suite for Hippolyte. These consist of solo piano pieces that are dark, brooding and less accessible than the earlier song compositions. The tone of intense melancholy is sustained throughout these suites, and is explored further and deeper with the music on Ethe. The outstanding moment from these Suites is the concluding movement from Titouan which begins with a sense of tidal ebb and flow and concludes with a brooding and introspective sense of irresolution. A storm is brewing, but will it break?

Ethe begins with a five part piece entitled “The Five Daughters”. This opens with a feel not too dissimilar to Satie’s “Gymnopédies”, but it soon reveals that its real intent lies, not in the imitation of earlier forms, and certainly not in the emulation of an intellectualised experimentalism, but rather in the expression of a deeply felt, intuitive, musical melancholy. Whilst this music is certainly darkly introspective and serious, it is nowhere unpleasant or disengaging. Indeed, when listened to superficially it can sound like a pleasing, if downbeat, impressionist work, in the vein of Satie or Debussy. But, like a river, the pretty surface conceals murky depths with dangerous undercurrents.

Much of the music on Ethe lends itself to comparisons with natural phenomena: rain; thunder; rivers. The comparison is important: this music expresses certain subjective emotions, but this expression is never allowed to become undisciplined and self-indulgent. Instead, the emotional power of the music is always commensurate to natural phenomena. Whether this is intentional or not, I do not know, but with repeated listening it becomes apparent that this music is measured against the slow changing backdrop of natural phenomena. The subject matter seems to be the interior emotional landscape of the artist himself, but the articulation of this interior landscape is certainly rooted in the natural world. This dialectical conversation between the interior and the exterior produces some masterpieces of understated beauty.

A couple of the pieces on Ethe, “Swaermian”, and “The Road to Strata Florida” I and II, utilise a technique referred to as ‘Lysergic Morphing’. As the name implies, this has a slightly hallucinatory effect, being a modulation of the piano music combined with an ominous sounding overlay of droning effects. The effect of this is to liberate the music from the confines of its own instrumentation and to achieve a transcendence to a more ethereal sound. This effect, I believe, is one that is intended by all of the music on Ethe. It is a desire to free the music from particular forms of association, and ultimately from form itself, so that the music will allow certain stilled, contemplative states to be gained.

We are used to hearing music that works in rather childish ways; that takes us by the hand and attempts to induce in us trite emotional states. It often creates a sense of yearning by juxtaposing certain notes or chords that create a certain resonance in the listener. These melodic references are often repeated or echoed throughout a piece of music. This has the effect of making the listener refer back to earlier parts of the piece, and anticipate forthcoming parts. In this way, we become used to a music that grounds us in a sense of temporal progression, and, often, emotional shallowness. On Ethe, there is a constant sense of yearning, but it is not experienced as a desire to refer back and forth to different parts of the music. Instead, there seems to be an intention to create a sense of yearning born in each moment of listening. The effect of this is to free the listener from the ebb and flow of temporal concerns, and to induce a state of being that is both calm and alert.

Something of this effect was hinted at in some of Richard’s earlier paintings. The diptych, Reckoning, shows a house seen across an overgrown meadow. Each canvas depicts the same scene viewed from the same perspective, but the first canvas is a daytime scene, the second, nocturnal. In the second, an owl is flying over the meadow. Other than this, there is little more to be said about what is contained in these paintings, but the effect of their juxtaposition is to inspire a sense of wonder at the often secret, hidden, world of nature, and of the altogether different way in which time unfolds in the absence of a human participant. This diptych makes us feel as though we have been permitted to see this hidden world of nature without unnecessary contextualisation. We see the inevitable alternation of night and day and feel a respect for the patient passage of time as it unfolds beyond human reckoning.

On Ethe, the music inspires a similar response. We become immersed in a sad and serious frame of mind but we begin to feel that we are dwelling contentedly in the moment rather than running towards some emotional peak or trough. We feel a calming sense of repose that is both psychological and physiological, and yet we remain fully attentive. The music is full of the transformations of nature, full of the tidal ebb and flow of powers greater than us, and the communion with such forces begins to induce in us a meditative state of being. This effect, of dwelling in the ubiquity of the present moment, has its parallels in other musical projects. Gurdjieff and De Hartmann collaborated on a series of sacred pieces for piano in the 1920’s. These works can provoke a stilled, meditative response in the listener, but they are largely derivative of the folk traditions that inspired them. Ethe seeks to achieve a rather more direct, unmediated, pathway to the transcendent.

The album feels as though it has no real sense of resolution. Such an imposition of form would contradict its intent. Instead, there is a calm unfolding that finishes with the artist reciting one of his Ethe poems. The voice has been modulated in a similar way to the Lysergically Morphed pieces, so that the words are lost in the timbre of the voice. As a musical interpretation of a poem, it is somewhat different from the earlier Schubertian settings, but in its own way, it belongs to that tradition, as it is neither arbitrary nor formless. Through its transcendent Etherisation it becomes an eerie evocation of something mysterious, and beyond form. It is a fitting end to this impressive piece of work.

Guest review by Chris Pankhurst

Tracklist:

1. The Five Daughters I (3:54)
2. The Five Daughters II (2:09)
3. The Five Daughters III (5:45)
4. The Five Daughters IV (1:51)
5. The Five Daughters V (6:47)
6. Swaermian (7:52)
7. Star Filled Tree, Blacksburg (4:11)
8. The Road To Strata Florida I (4:14)
9. The Road To Strata Florida II ( 16:43)

CDr Cover

artist: Far Black Furlong release: Caerbre format: 3″ CDr, Digital year of release: 2009 label: Reverb Worship (3″), Box of Woks (Digital) duration: 19:35

detailed info: discogs.com.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on this website, you’ll know I’ve been very enthusiastic [...]]]>

Digital Cover

CDr Cover

artist: Far Black Furlong
release: Caerbre
format: 3″ CDr, Digital
year of release: 2009
label: Reverb Worship (3″), Box of Woks (Digital)
duration: 19:35

detailed info: discogs.com.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on this website, you’ll know I’ve been very enthusiastic about Far Black Furlong‘s earlier releases. And I’m happy to say that they keep on delivering the goods, starting with this new two-track EP, released on a 3″ CDr by Reverb Worship and as digital download by Box of Woks. The physical edition is limited to 52 copies in beautiful pressed flower paper, so act fast!

The sound on this release is quite ambient, though not as abstract as on Haidd 2. A rather empty beginning with sudden crescendos sets the stage for a dark, mysterious first track, with a lead role for oboe, but other instruments providing a subtle backdrop. The musical theme is basically repeated in the second track, but quite soon, piano and other string instruments add melodic variations that make up the greater part of this track. Combined with the artwork, this EP conjures up a darkened, organic atmosphere that combines perfectly with electro-acoustic approach of the band. With every release, Far Black Furlong manages to use basically the same stylistic ingredients but put the emphasis exactly in a new place, that makes each piece refreshing.

It’s a short EP, and I can be short about it: another brilliant recording by these until now severly overlooked British masters of ambient, acoustic and classical sounds. This one deserves your full attention if you are interested in experimental ambient music in any way.

Reviewed by O.S.

Tracklist:

1. Time Lapse At Caer Din (9:03)
2. Winter Flowers, Caerbre (10:32)

Suite for Hippolyte is a new piece for solo piano by English composer and painter Richard Moult, who has released several solo records, and has worked with artists like David Tibet, United Bible Studies, Far Black Furlong and Agitated Radio Pilot.

This suite is one of a set of shorter works released by [...]]]>

Suite for Hippolyte is a new piece for solo piano by English composer and painter Richard Moult, who has released several solo records, and has worked with artists like David Tibet, United Bible Studies, Far Black Furlong and Agitated Radio Pilot.

This suite is one of a set of shorter works released by small independent labels, and it is a prime example of Richard’s musical vision, combining timeless, abstract compositions with an atmosphere that is mystical, organic and natural. It will be appreciated by lovers of evocative classical and ambient music, as well as those into the works of Michael Cashmore, Nature and Organisation and Current 93.

Suite for Hippolyte is the first release on the Evening of Light label, a sister project to the Evening of Light webzine, which has been in existence since October 2006. The suite is released on a hand-stamped 3” CDr, and housed in a folded and decorated coloured paper cover, including a small, calligraphed booklet.

artist: Richard Moult
release: Suite for Hippolyte
layout: D.M.K. & O.S. (Evening of Light)
duration: 7 tracks, 16:40
release date: June 1st 2009
catalogue number: :EOL01:
availability: Limited edition of 100 unnumbered copies. Still available. See our order page to order this release, or for more info.
price: 8,50 euros via PayPal or 7,50 euros via bank transfer; all prices include worldwide shipping.

Use the player below for full-length previews of this release:

Reviews & Press:

-Played on KinkFM X-rated

-Played and reviewed by Ian Holloway for Wonderful Wooden Reasons

-Reviewed by Jon Lorenz for Foxy Digitalis

Links:

Richard Moult (Official Website)
Richard Moult (MySpace)

detailed info: discogs.com.

Released in late 2007, World Winding Down is Agitated Radio Pilot‘s first album on (non-recordable) CD, and a double one at that! It also might turn out [...]]]> artist: Agitated Radio Pilot
release: World Winding Down
format: 2xCD
year of release: 2007
label: DeadSlackString
duration: 1:36:27

detailed info: discogs.com.

Released in late 2007, World Winding Down is Agitated Radio Pilot‘s first album on (non-recordable) CD, and a double one at that! It also might turn out to be David Colohan‘s masterpiece, because I would surely be intimidated if the project ever manages to create something even better. Little known though it is, I believe music like this is so much better than most of what gets released nowadays in related areas like folk and singer/songwriter. On this album, Agitated Radio Pilot takes elements from those genres and really pushes them beyond into brilliant new territories.

In a way, World Winding Down is a logical follow-up to 2006′s Your Turn To Go it Alone; the main emphasis is again on melancholic songs based on guitar and vocals. However, the role of instrumentals has become bigger, making this album the, for me, perfect synthesis of great songs and beautiful acoustic soundscapes and interludes. An impressive host of guest artists provides instrumental and vocal support to all of this; it would be a bit much to list all them – they fill up an entire page on the booklet – but some of the more important are Richard Moult (Far Black Furlong) on piano, Maja Elliott on keyboards and vocals, and Alison O’Donnell (Mellow Candle) on vocals. Another important element are the many field recordings (mainly by Gavin Prior and Anders Gjerde) and bird songs that are subtly woven into both the songs and the instrumentals.

Now, for a brief impression of the structure of the album. Not only is this a double album, there is also a very strong symmetry between Numinous Blues and Luminous Blues. Both have twelve tracks, to start with, and are about 45 to 50 minutes long. But the nature of the corresponding tracks on each half is also quite similar. The first track on both sides is an instrumental intro. The one half has a warm droning soundscape, while the other has beautiful short piano composition by Richard Moult with guest vocals by Larissa Pychlau (Cele) and added effects. The second and third tracks are all excellent examples of Colohan’s typical type of songwriting. Especially “All That Fall” and “Around Closing Time” display his undeniable talent for both song and lyric writing. The fourth tracks take this even further though; “Caroline Sings” and “Take Heed of Your Hurt” are both stunningly beautiful songs, each with backing vocals by O’Donnell and keyboards by Elliott. Tracks five are both interludes, and the sixes and sevens contain (what else) central tracks. The title track and “Another Day” (a Roy Harper cover) are both great, but the sevens must be some of my absolute favourites. On this pair, Richard Moult and David Colohan form the perfect duo, bringing two extraordinarily beautiful piano songs. I hope to hear these two together more often in the future! The symmetry is a bit less from this point on, but mention goes anyway to “Earthfasts”, another one of my favourite tracks. It’s the longest one, and a great exercise in freefolk experimentation. It starts off with some great bluesy guitar and strings work by Richard Skelton, and then moves into great modern folk piece, where most of the female guest vocalists join in as a choir, also featuring Sharron Kraus this time. The two by two times final tracks are again similar. The elevens are final pieces of regular song, while the two closing tracks take a laid-back ambient approach, ending both sides of the album on a moody, melancholic note.

Though the album is not without a few flaws (mostly to do with performance of some of the guest vocalists and some of the noisy guitar solos), if there’s any album that has enough merit to cover up tiny blemishes ten times over, it’s this one. The way already excellent songs are combined with the musical detail and depth of sound that we hear on all of these songs here is the mark of a true classic. In this way, World Winding Down transcends genre limitations and unites the best elements from different areas of music. Of course it still is, mainly, a ‘folk’ album, but you’ll soon discover that is also much more. Just as the basic melodies of the folk song become something more through the combination with soundscapes and experimentation, so do the lyrics, and a song which in other contexts would be ‘just’ about love and loss, becomes even more profound.

If it’s not clear by now that I’m enthusiastic about this album, you haven’t been reading very well. This is easily my favourite album of 2007, and one of those rare albums that makes me doubt whether I should break my rule of not giving higher grades than 9 when an album is just released. Enough talk – go out and give this one a listen, and spread the word. If Colohan doesn’t get any recognition for this, the world is a poor place…

Reviewed by O.S.

Tracklist:

I. Numinous Blues:
1. A Darkness Made of Beating Wings (4:16)
2. All That Fall (3:39)
3. Everybody Lives (Just This Once) (3:24)
4. Caroline Sings (5:33)
5. For Medb (2:32)
6. World Winding Down (5:43)
7. The Gathering Dark (2:28)
8. You Were Always in My Arms Forever (6:57)
9. The Life You’ll Leave Behind (4:05)
10. Mt Argus to Mt Jerome (1:57)
11. People Start Over (3:05)
12. Leave the City on Foot (7:01)

II. Luminous Blues:
1. On Cape Clear (2:07)
2. Around Closing Time (4:00)
3. An Ear to the River (4:14)
4. Take Heed of Your Hurt (3:06)
5. The Lamplit Wood (1:55)
6. Another Day (4:24)
7. Along the Trails of Midnight Deer (2:40)
8. Botanic Avenue (4:04)
9. The Awakening Clay (2:47)
10. Earthfasts (10:31)
11. Shorelines Clad in Snow (3:57)
12. Everything Ends (2:02)

detailed info: discogs.com.