How many columns of clouds
Had risen and crumbled, I wonder
Among other things, these two lines of Japanese poetry by Sora (an Edo period Japanese poet) evoke the natural balance between order and chaos. They inspired and informed the core ideas of this album, a musical meditation on the tipping point of our current climate catastrophe, where naturally occurring weather systems collapse into something terrible and beautiful. It also reflects the fact that, as a species, we have the ability to see beauty in even the bleakest of circumstances.
With this album, we sought to mirror the tension between chaos and order, working with naturally occurring and accidental musical and textural events in concert with formally composed elements. Ice and vapour: rising and falling, coalescing and dissipating columns of sonic clouds that reflect the melting of translucent marble-blue ice sheets, huge storms forming over darkening oceans, and the gradual fading of mist. Complex and fearful, pure and meditative, sounds that ebb and flow, solid then evaporating.
The impressionistic piano compositions of Ross Harris performed by Stephen Clothier, the textural distortions of Sam Leamy’s guitar, Neil Johnstone’s synthesised soundscapes, Steve Burridge’s various samples and recordings, and Steve Garden’s final manipulations and treatments combine to produce an experimental and often emotive conversation about the environmental challenges ahead of us.
Featuring:
Stephen Clothier (piano)
Ross Harris (piano score)
Neil Johnstone (synthesized soundscapes)
Sam Leamy (guitar, effects)
Steve Burridge (recordings and samples)
Steve Garden (manipulations and treatments)
Produced by Stephen Clothier, Ross Harris, Neil Johnstone, Sam Leamy, Steve Burridge, Steve Garden
Mixed and mastered by Steve Garden
Cover art by Neil Johnstone
https://artbyneilinprogress.wordpress.com
Band photo by Deme Te Atawhai Scott-McGregor
https://www.instagram.com/de.teatawhai.scott/
Designed by UnkleFranc
Printed by Studio Q
Released: 23 June 2022
Catalogue: RAT-D126
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Stephen Clothier (piano)
Sam Leamy (guitar, effects)
Neil Johnstone (synthesized soundscapes)
Steve Burridge (recordings and samples)
Ross Harris (piano score)
Steve Garden (manipulations and treatments) — residing in the off-screen space
