Artist:
Andrew Heath
Title:
The Silent Cartographer
Label:
Disco Gecko
Released: 300 cd's available to pre-order on bandcamp release around the 18th of August. Available on general download in October.
The
2nd
non-Banco release from Disco Gecko showcases Andrew's journey into
beatless ambient terrains comprising synth, piano and field
recordings. I find I have to be in the mood for these type of
compositions, usually quiet reflective times in my own company. Now
although this isn't Andrew's first album. I've not come across his
work
before. Having
a look at his web-site 'Aqueous Arts' I found it minimal and to the
point and I liked the cut of his jib with this passage
'I
remember as a small boy, watching a film about an artist who had made
a sculptural piece of work that involved hanging large pieces of
metal and wood inside an old barn. When one piece was moved it made
contact with another until ever so gradually, the whole building was
filled with random motion and sounds. I was fascinated by the
serendipitous nature of this creation'.
So
I
find myself trusting
in
Toby's judgement and
hoping that I'm transported into a content and relaxed state,
somewhat akin to floating in water on a hot, sunny day.
I
began with 'In Search of Eden' and
although the sound of the materials differs from the instruments. I
could easily draw a comparision to the statement of the passage
above. Andrew utilises sparse piano and synth layered over birdsong
maintaining a minimal beauty and managed to keep my interest without
the need of multiple complex loops diverting from the main theme of
the piece.
The
next track 'Kleine Blume Irgendwo (a homage to Joachim)'
an
epic 18 minute piece,
which refers to Hans Joachim Roedelius (an
experimental synth player at the forefront of the 70's Krautrock
scene). In some ways it's similar to the first track but with a far
more elongated synth passage and stereotypical field recordings such
as waves lapping on the beach, door creaks etc that's not to say it's
a bad piece, in fact it's great and I enjoyed it all the more for
those inclusions.
The
album continues with tracks of variable lengths and although keeping
to the same format they all have little traits and personalities of
their own I particularly liked the overall sounds of 'Shoreline
(found object)' for example and the eeire and less stereotypical field
recordings of the title track against the melodic piano and krautrock
like synths.
I
would recommend this to fans of Krautrock artists such as Klaus
Schulze and the ambient compositions of Keith
Keniff (Helios/Goldmund) or simply those looking to relax.
Review
by Woodzee
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