Kevin Braheny and Tim Clark - Rain
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Track Listing
- Sun Showers 6:05
- Tidepool 8:14
- The Hills of Home 7:18
- Cloud Riddles 4:32
- Monsoon 5:06
- Rainstreet 6:01
- Mist of Memory 3:08
- Falling Like Tears 9:43
- Green Umbrella 5:28
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- BRAHENY and CLARK's maiden voyage is brimming with imaginative essays on the emotions associated with one of nature's most multi-faceted expressions. It's a pleasure to immerse yourself in this music's resounding optimism and passion. Rain, the first collaboration between Hearts of Space artists KEVIN BRAHENY and TIM CLARK, exemplifies the kind of rapport most musicians only dream about. "The music just seemed to pour out of us," cracks Braheny.
The idea to create an album entirely about rain preceded the beginning of work in Clark's studio in Phoenix, Arizona. "We knew we wanted to write music that would feel like rain without actually using recorded sounds of thunder and showers. We felt it would be more of an artistic challenge to depict these things purely musically."
Inspiration from nature was lacking at first. Braheny's base in Northern California had been besieged by drought for years, and Clark's Sonoran desert home was experiencing the usual August heatwave - 115 degrees with no rain in sight. The musicians had to conjure up their fondest memories of summer thunderstorms and gentle spring showers.
"After many days composing pieces about rain," says Braheny, "on the last day I was in Phoenix it actually started raining, and in California it continued for months." "It was still pouring when I went to Kevin's studio in December to complete the music," Clark continues, "and it didn't stop until the album was finished."
The nine pieces surpass their immediate value as programmatic excursions. In the opening piece, "Sunshowers," sparkling textures, rich harmonic clouds and exhilarating melodies set the tone for a lively exploration of the many moods and settings associated with rain. Braheny's unmistakable melodic style on the Steiner EWI (electronic wind instrument) enhances the expressiveness of the music with a broad palette of tone colors, sounding at various times like a glistening flute, an underwater cello, or a saxophone from outer space.
Otherwise, it's virtually impossible to tell who's playing what as the musicians fuse their individual styles to create the luxurious slow-motion sonic splashes of "Tidepool," and the electric flashes and dynamic, rhythmic storms of "Monsoon." "Falling Like Tears" is especially striking in its juxtaposition of yearning, mournful melodies and sultry Indonesian gamelan accompaniments.
From the rainy day blues of "Rainstreet" to the carefree, south-of-the-border beats of "Green Umbrella," and the misty Irish cheer of "The Hills of Home," Braheny and Clark's maiden voyage is brimming with imaginative essays on the emotions associated with one of nature's most multi-faceted expressions. It's a pleasure to immerse yourself in this music's resounding optimism and passion. With its gorgeous melodies and rhythmic grace, Rain is sure to chase away any gray clouds on your horizon.
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Kevin Braheny and Tim Clark - The Spell
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ORDER VIA OUR SECURE SERVER
OR CALL 212-580-9200 x10
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Track Listing
- The Magician 3:09
- A Perfect Evening For Flying Carpets 5:30
- Time in the Mirror (Transporter Version) 5:11
- Palace of Dreams 8:28
- The Spell 5:53
- Merlin's Last Voyage 9:52
- The Sail of Argo Navis 7:22
- Sorceror's Parade 5:58
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- The Spell fuses the expressive sound of KEVIN BRAHENY's EWI electronic wind instrument with Tim Clark's unerring gift for bathing each measure of music in sonic exotica. The result is eight instrumental incantations conjuring an aural treatise on the art of enchantment. KEVIN BRAHENY and Tim Clark have long been among the most original artists in electronic music, and each has a sound that is instantly recognizable.
Braheny's unique sonic fingerprint comes courtesy of his multi-octave Steiner EWI (electronic wind instrument), which can sound like a flute, violin, human voice, or anything in between. Twirl a few knobs on this versatile device however, and it can sound like a tool for snakecharmers on Neptune. Tim Clark, in contrast, is not known for any particular instrument, but for his skillful use of nearly any obscure instrument to sound just the right note.
When the two got together originally for 1995's Rain, the result was a stellar example of two self-contained parts coming together to make an even greater whole. Clark's clean tones and percussive arrangements were the perfect contrast and foundation for Braheny's lyrical, sweetly emotive melodies. Cheered by critical raves, the two continued to collaborate and the seed that was nurtured by Rain has come to full bloom on their second effort.
Nearly cinematic in its richness and detail, The Spell is a finely wrought feast for the ears and the mind's eye. The music flows effortlessly, belying the fact that worlds within worlds of wonder are layered into each of the eight pieces. Like explorers of the subatomic realm, listeners will find that each elegant melody is actually formed from many intricate smaller symmetries, each as fundamental to the overall sound as atoms are to our own being.
From the opening notes of "The Magician" to the fading moments of "Sorcerer's Parade," Braheny and Clark use their expanded palette to paint panoramic vistas like "The Magician," and "Merlin's Last Voyage" as well as intimate portraits like "The Spell" that are both familiar and exotic. Two superb programmatic pieces are served up as well. On "Time in the Mirror," the looking glass shatters inward, revealing the mysteries that lie on the other side, and, on "A Perfect Evening for Flying Carpets," even the imagination-impaired cannot fail to enjoy the exact moment when the carpet lifts off and soars into the starry Arabian night.
Throughout it all, the music is marked by countless subtle nuances that are the hallmark of true craftsmen, and imbued with a unique magic that flows as a natural byproduct of this enchanting collaboration. The Spell has been cast, and special rewards await those who surrender to its magical charms.
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