Artist : Greg Haines
Title : Slumber Tides
Genre : Ambient
Year : 2006
Date : 01/2007
Bitrate : VBR kbps
Tracks : 05
Label : Miasmah MIACD003
Source : CDDA
Encoder : Lame 3.97
Length : 46:10 min
Size : 59,3 MB
Tracklist:
----------
01.snow airport 04:59
02.submergence 09:51
03.tired diary (revised) 13:00
04.arups gate 10:41
05.caesura 07:39
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46:10 min
These sort of albums simply donÆt come around enough
û albums with the depth and emotion to plunge you into
a world far, far away from the one we inhabit each day
and with the longevity to keep challenging you listen after
listen.
Certainly with the current trend for modern classical/
electronic records there is no shortage of cinematic
and emotional music û we have Max Richter, Ryan
Teague and Sylvain Chauveau holding aloft the torch,
but what Haines has produced is somehow more na∩ve,
warmer and in parts even more visual. Interestingly,
Greg Haines is a mere eighteen years of age; a time
when most musicians are only just finding their feet,
let alone crafting fully realised and incredibly focused
album projects.
Maybe this record is totally indicative of our times,
when someone can with the aid of the internet become
interested and challenged by all sorts of experimental
music, no longer confined to the wares of the
local record shop. When his peers were delving into
the murky world of pop music Haines was already
becoming enamoured with the world of Rune Grammofon,
Kranky and Fat Cat and on leaving school he set about
travelling through Europe, meeting musicians and
developing his inspiration and imagination.
On his travels he met Miasmah boss and Deaf Center
founder Erik K. Skodvin, who introduced him to singer
and collaborator Kristin Evensen Giaver (who appeared
on SkodvinÆs æKniveÆ album recently). Giaver and Haines
quickly became friends and after a number of recording
sessions, her voice became an integral part of HainesÆ
work, embedding itself in his dense constructs. Apart
from a few other collaborations (notably with LampseÆs
Jasper TX) the majority of the instruments on æSlumber TidesÆ
were played by Haines himself, a competent guitarist,
pianist and string player û and as the tracks build and
decompose effortlessly around cello, violin, voice, and
subtle electronics its hard to hold onto the thought that
this is the work of a musician at the begining of his
creative life.
For proof of all this all you need to hear is the frankly
unsurpassable æArups GateÆ, a ten minute slice of
ethereal beauty beginning with marimba, glockenspiel
and the voice of Kristin Evensen Giaver before building
into an emotive Ligeti-esque symphony of layered sound.
As the track splutters out of earshot it leaves you totally
floored, leaving no doubts in mind that Haines has
assured himself a place amongst the best producers
in this genre. æSlumber TidesÆ is a complete, expertly
sculpted statement and one of the biggest surprises
of the year
- you wonÆt find a more perfect album to usher in
the snow this winter.
Essential purchase.
http://www.greghaines.co.uk/
http://www.miasmah.com/