┌─┐ ┌─┬─┐
││├┬┬┤├┼┘│
│┌┘┤││├┤┌┤
_________________________ Psychedelic Cyber Zone ______________│├┐│┌┤ │││_____
└┴─┴─┴─┴─┘
Artist.....: Jonny Nash
Album......: Phantom Actors
Type.......: Album
Genre......: Ambient
Style......: Experimental
Label......: Melody As Truth
CatalogNr..: MAT1
Url........: https://melodyastruth.bandcamp.com
Rel.date...: 20.11.2018
Str.date...: 24.11.2014
Source.....: WEB > WAV
Grabber....: Unknown
Encoder....: N/A -V0 --vbr-new / vbr-mtrh --lowpass 19500
Quality....: VBR 220kbps avg. / 44.1kHz / Joint-Stereo
Tracks.....: 5
Size.......: 41.53 MB
Length.....: 26:10
______________________________________________________________________________
Tracklist
01. A Shallow Space 04:01
02. Vision Partially Obscured 04:03
03. Year Of The Wooden Horse 04:51
04. Phantom Actors 07:32
05. Retreat 05:43
Total Time: 26:10
______________________________________________________________________________
Release Notes
Review from Juno:
As the recent Gaussian Curve album proved, Jonny Nash seems to look at music
making as a communal experience. He's perhaps most famous as one half of ESP
Institute regulars Land of Light, whose eponymous 2012 debut album took
densely layered, tape loop heavy ambience to new levels of rush-inducing
beauty. Aside from this, he's also had spells in a variety of short-lived
bands and one-off projects, from ESP eccentrics Sombrero Galaxy and Crue-L
nu-disco combo Disco Session, to Thomas Bullock's alcohol themed Spirit Bear
Mezcal Ensemble.
In contrast, solo projects have been few and far between. In fact, he has
only one full solo release to his name, last year's largely impressive - but
arguably patchy - Snaker 004, a collection of ambient, downtempo and Balearic
sketches that placed his evocative guitar playing at the heart of the action.
Quite why he's released so little solo music remains a mystery - certainly, if
this debut solo 12" is anything to go by, he has the compositional skills and
production nous to succeed on his own.
Phantom Actors is not only his first solo 12", but also marks the debut of
his new label, Melody As Truth. He recently told Test Pressing that he felt a
desire to "develop something of my own, something beyond the music", but his
intention - for the time being, at least - is to keep it as a home for his own
projects. In that respect, it's the start of a new chapter in Nash's career;
his opportunity to step out of the shadows and show what he can do once and
for all.
From the sound of Phantom Actors, the omens are good. Through his work with
Kyle Martin as Land of Light, Nash has proved something of a master at
creating evocative, densely layered ambient music shot through with a kind of
sun-bright beauty. In fact, the Land of Light material was often so densely
layered that it took the duo months to complete a single track. Phantom Actors
has an altogether different feel; it's no less beautiful and atmospheric, it's
just a little looser, with sparser production and fewer elements cluttering
the mix. Notably, it's also rather melancholic, with certain tracks - most
notably the heart-aching "Retreat", whose delicate piano refrain is almost
breathtaking - feeling more elegiac than any of his previous work.
What really stands out, though, is the stunning simplicity of the five
tracks. For the most part, they're made up of just a handful of elements;
beautifully slow and emotion-rich piano, some drifting synthesizer chords, an
electronic melody here and there, and a dash of Nash's trademark hazy guitar.
In Nash's hands, these sparse elements sing, creating spine-tingling ambient
mood pieces that stir emotions and evoke images. Both "Shallow Space" and the
lazy "Vision Partially Obscured" - whose bluesy guitar solos feel like an
audible nod to the more laidback work of original Fleetwood Mac guitarist
Peter Green - seem to gently unfurl before your ears, as if you're hearing
them being created. The same could perhaps be said of "Year of the Wooden
Horse", whose soft chords, twinkling pianos and enveloping pads benefit from
occasional bass pulses and a whisper of delay and reverb.
Nash only feels the need to get rhythmic once, on the EP's heady title track.
The beats are played down in the mix, of course, and doused in dub delay, but
their elegant shuffle adds much to the track's lazy Balearic guitars,
claustrophobic pads and darting electronics. However subtle, this groove
provides a focal point, something for Nash to build his guitar textures and
twinkling pianos around. As a result, "Phantom Actors" is arguably the closest
thing on the EP to Land of Light, and certainly the brightest - if you can
call Nash's particular brand of enveloping ambient "bright". It's certainly
beautiful, and is arguably the highlight of an overwhelmingly emotive EP.
____________________________________________________ Psychedelic Cyber Zone __
est. 2001