“Multi-instrumentalist and composer Steve Parry has produced a work of haunting beauty and timeless depth in The Singers…his ethereal piano chimes and drone-like resonance pervade this album. In a slowly unfolding landscape that seems to defy time, these pieces feel less composed than discovered: lingering like mists swirling and eddying in frost hollows. The listener almost comes upon them by accident. They are delicate yet surprisingly robust pieces of music that both unnerve and settle with equal measure. There is something austere about Parry’s modus operandi that makes every note and their place in the ensuing soundscape feel significant but also ascetic yet this is coupled with a purity of spirit that makes this music ultimately benevolent. It unfolds with consummate ease and in a manner that feels almost predestined and presents beautifully contrasted aural textures. ‘Gravitate To The Green Hut’ is a good example. Parry’s church organ drone builds with cyclical simplicity only to be interrupted by an exquisite banshee wail that destabilises the initial mood of the track. Throughout, compositional concepts are both elemental in structure and metaphor. Simple, yet texturally disparate, elements combine in unpredictable patterns and Stainsby’s overall engineering prowess produces absolute clarity of sound, doing deserved justice to the level of compositional integrity. The layers of sampled sound input are also highly subtle: sometimes just a hint to provide an undertone or, as in the case of ‘The Celestial Male Voice Choir’ on the eponymous track, providing a momentary but indisputable presence. Parry sites both John Cage and Jimi Hendrix as inspiration but the combination that immediately comes to mind, not so much in style as in attention to layered detail and the resultant overall mood, is Brian Eno’s work with David Bowie. There is the same slightly mournful essence and feeling of impending desolation. This is even echoed in the ‘hidden’ portion of the last track, ‘Glass Floor No Door’, where a flock of bleating sheep have the final say. This trait must not be mistaken for morbidity, indeed Parry’s work exhibits much that is life-affirming, yet the overall ambience is one of melancholy.” – The Wire
Hwyl Nofio
The Singers And Harp Players Are Dumb
MediaFire Download Link
Tracklist:
01. Black River
02. Jerusalem Lane
03. Luminous Is An Autumn Sunset
04. Gravitate To The Green Hut
05. The Song – Tide Waves And Goes
06. Angel Tits
07. The Singers And Harp Players Are Dumb
08. The Somnambulist
09. Glass Floor No Door
