On "Retold" by Nest - Huw Roberts and Otto Totland
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Label: Serein
Year: 2010
Format: CD
Nest is an interesting collaboration between Norwegian Otto Totland and Welsh Huw Roberts – both highly talented pianists. Together they give us “Retold” – a somewhat ambiguous title that could be lent to the fact we are now for the first time on CD seeing the “re-release” of their eponymously titled EP previously released on the Serein netlabel – incidently run by said Huw Roberts.
This is the sound of trollish landscapes, murky waters and dark forests, as painted by Theodor Kittelsen and so vividly now conjured to life musically through Otto Totland, one half of cinematic ambient duo Deaf Center. On the other hand we find Huw Roberts, owner of the label now releasing this gem of a title, who lays an apt hand on this collaboration by injecting emotive filmscapes so to speak – cinematically rich stories of sounds that transgres electronica and classical music. Over the course of the album’s running length, the listener finds himself captivated by this duo’s abilities as sonic story-tellers, a second meaning to attribute to the album title, a story which reads like a film with its climax, light and interluding sequences and build-ups and momentous changes for darker and sinister moments – but albeit a composition wholly light and positive – which takes cues from the acoustic doom genre which Miasmah, Type and SMGT have previously achieved success introducing to the music scene. Instrumentation is lovely and rhythmically hypnotising, looping and backed by strings and overlaid lighter tones of piano, Welsh harp and horns, both with electronic processing and at other times simply relying on the force of classical music and the result is beautiful in every single of the eleven tracks, six of which date back to the original EP from March 2007 but the re-mastering and addition of five additional songs does not reveal any differing traces when it comes to fitting in with the original material – and all eleven tracks feel very connected, structured pieces that make for ideal home listening and relaxation.
The album is out on January 31st 2010 and pre-orders are accepted as of the turn of the new year. At Soundscaping we’re happy to name it our first highly recommended release for the new year.
Web resources:
Serein
Serein netlabel
