Artist: Andrew Heath
Title:
A Trace of Phosphor
Label:
Disco Gecko
Released:
1st May
In
the promotional blurb for the release Andrew states this album is
very personal to him. Written in dark times through the winter, often
in the middle of a sleepless night. You can clearly see by the
majority of the titles of the tracks, the root cause and Andrew
himself admits this is probably his darkest production to date.
Historically, it’s often been reported that artists produce their
best work in times of pain and sorrow and perhaps that is often true.
One
of the things that has always struck me with Andrew’s music is that
like a good DJ who knows how to build suspense before the drop, for
me he really knows how to use space between sounds. Whilst listening
I ascertained a sense of pondering and melancholy with the slow
deliberate use of the piano between the drones and field recordings.
Other than this it was business as usual with what I come to expect
with his musical productions.
Then
I reached track five ‘The Airwaves Call Us’ where I didn’t feel
any sense of melancholy, more a sense of peace and beauteous to my
ears. The only comparison that comes to mind is a cookery class,
where everyone prepares the same dish from the same ingredients and
recipe. The results are always variable but this is the dish that
stands out above the others.
The
sense of peace and beauty continued for me listening to track six ‘I
Sleep Above the Forest’, enhanced somewhat by the addition of Lydia
Kenny on Soprano Sax. This trend continues with a good proportion of
the tracks that follow although there are more sombre pieces like
‘Black Days’ for example which utilises subtle field recordings
of wind and rain.
To
summarise if you are a fan of Andrew’s music this album ticks all
the boxes as well as the others. At times it can feel melancholic
however, it’s counterbalanced with feelings of peace and harmony. I
guess it’s all down to personal perspective, many of us can
relate to troubled times and some people like music to tug at an
array of emotions.
Reviewed
by Woodzee
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