Monday, January 31, 2011

The Hummingbird Dream review on The Sound Projector


The Ghost of 29 Megacycles is an Australian trio based in Perth and Melbourne bringing us their personal brand of sweet ambient electronic droning on The Hummingbird Dream (HELLO SQUARE RECORDINGS CUBE043); most of this release showcases Greg Taw who overdubs his suffused guitar and organ murmurings with some field recordings to produce the 24-minute epic opening track. Wisely, he refuses to vary the pace, timbre, tonal range or anything else for the duration, thus allowing the listener to enjoy the soul-stirring sensations of a sunset in slow motion, or a dream of flying over benign alien landscapes on wings of purple feathers. On the second part, Taw is joined by vocalist Jessyca Hutchins and organ player Rupert Thomas, to produce a slightly more dramatic combination of mixed chords, throbbing drones, airy angelic singing, and mesmerising effects. A lot of people working in this area strive hard for that elusive feeling of “epic timelessness”, but The Ghost of 29 Megacycles seem to achieve it without even trying. Despite layers of studio craft, what emerges is very natural and instinctive music, warm and human. A nice one. Be sure to look out for their 2009 release, Love Via Paper Planes. Also note the cover art, which I thought was a blurry photo of the Australian landscape, but turns out to be an unmade bed. This may say something about their music, finding all of nature’s grandeur contained inside a simple domestic scene. Also it clues you in that the music is somnolent and dreamy, in a good way.

http://www.thesoundprojector.com/2011/01/23/voile-et-vapeur/

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