a r t i s t : Mark Templeton
t i t l e : Standing on a Hummingbird
d a t e : 2007
l a b e l : Anticipate
c a t : ANTICIPATE001CD
s o u r c e : CDDA
g e n r e : Ambient
r l s. d a t e : Feb/2007
t r a c k s : 10
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 49,1 MB
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An achingly beautiful set of musings, running through tonal
ambience and warm, sweeping electro-acoustics.
Fuelled by the same opulent minimalism that has given
Christian Fennesz such a colossal following, this debut album
from Mark Templeton is executed with such effortless
brilliance that on first listen we were convinced that it was
the work of a seasoned master. Brimming with delicate acoustic
instruments (banjo, guitar and accordion), "Standing On A
Hummingbird" threatens to unfurl into a collection of
traditional songs before Templeton works into them like clay,
totally remoulding and redeveloping each and every note into a
processed entity that's as fragile as it is enticing, allowing
delicate subtleties and intricacies to flood out into the
fore. This is of course not a new concept, and has most
notably been mastered the aforementioned Fennesz, but
Templeton injects his compositions with a late night grace
that's exceptionally beautiful and almost impossible to ignore
within moments of its palatial opening. Another good
comparison to Templeton's sound would be NYC operatives
Mountains who also manage to successfully imbue their academic
excursions with an Eno-esque leaning towards the more pastoral
sounds of life - but where Mountains rely on long passages of
drifting ambience, Templeton instead harnesses his productions
into short, perfect snapshots of beauty. Rarely does a track
here go over the five-minute mark, lending proceedings here a
bijou fragility that makes it almost impossible not to go back
to the begining as soon as the album comes to a close. Much
like recent offerings from the Miasmah label (last week's
stunning album from Rafael Anton Irissari and the hugely
acclaimed debut from Greg Haines in particular), Ezekiel
Honig's Anticipate label has here delivered a first release
that's as breathtaking and important as any album of its ilk
we've heard in recent years, making this a true classic in the
making for all lovers of fragile music that pulls at the
heartstrings while challenging accepted musical conventions.
ESSENTIAL PURCHASE
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01-Amidst Things Uncontrolled [05:01]
02-Pigeon Hurt [03:18]
03-Roots Growing [04:43]
04-From Verse to Verse [03:41]
05-Refrain From [01:04]
06-Tentative Growth [04:29]
07-Across From Golden (Remix) [05:05]
08-Standing on a Hummingbird [04:53]
09-Pattern for a Pillow [07:15]
10-Difficult to Light [05:02]
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44:31 min