Obscura

Alargo

Available to DOWNLOAD or as a PRINT-ON-DEMAND CD

Kingsley Spargo (trumpet, tuba, pūmoana, vocals)
Alan Brown (keyboards, iPads)

With firm roots in improvised music, Alan Brown and Kingsley Spargo have confidently cut their own distinctive paths, but their collaboration as Alargo offers even greater fluidity and freedom of expression. As Spargo says, "We take listeners on a journey that's new for them because it's new for us."

The music on Obscura is conceptualised to favour space, texture, and atmosphere over usual composition forms such as melody and tempo. Alargo records live with no overdubs, which allows for a deeper exploration of their creative spontaneity, and free rein for instinct and inspiration.

Obscura builds on the groundwork established on previous releases, Central Plateau (2016) and Primacy (2017), and is the most crystallised expression of their creative explorations to date. The performances on Obscura were faithfully captured by recording engineer Matt Hammond, and the delicate art of balancing disparate synthetic and acoustic sounds was masterfully achieved through the sage ears of Paul Streekstra, whose contribution to all three albums has helped manifest beauty and tension through an intuitive understanding of Alargo's creative vision.

Produced by Alargo
Recorded by Matt Hammond at Tin Dolphin Music Studio, January 2020 (tindolphin.com)
Mixed by Paul W. Streekstra at Bird Song Audio (birdsongaudio.com)
Mastered by Angus McNaughton at Auralux Mastering
Cover photography by Angus McNaughton (angusmcnaughton.com)
Designed by UnkleFranc
Printing by Studio Q

SEVENTH HOUSE MUSIC Vol 3

The Seventh House Music series champions artists who unapologetically follow their muse free of commercial or generic confines. It serves as a platform for works that are collaborative and improvisatory, music discovered in the process of being formed.

Released: 21 October 2021
Catalogue: RAT-D118