Search Results for: monty adkins

Monty Adkins – Unfurling Streams

Monty Adkins he often chooses a single instrument to work with and then starts exploring its possibilities and manipulating its sounds.
And while the starting point and sounds are very different to begin with, he manages to create a ‘sound-field’ that is immediately recognisable.

“Unfurling Streams”, his recent release on Crónica, is based on recordings of percussion instruments made by Jonny Axelsson (a much praised percussionist with impressive experience in playing contemporary music by composers like Stockhausen, Ligeti and Kevin Volans) and Monty Adkins himself.

Monty Adkins – Borderlands

‘Borderlands’ is an extended meditation for multitracked cellos recorded by cellist William Mace. The composition ‘comprises of six interludes and six extended panels, each comprising twenty-eight short melodic fragments. Each panel uses the same fragments to form new melodies and harmonies.” – but for the listener it feels – and can be enjoyed – as one single uninterrupted piece.
A piece in which every single detail has its place, a piece that conveys that everything is as it should be. A very, very comforting piece.

Monty Adkins – Rift Patterns

After “Fragile.Flicker.Fragment”( 2011) and “Four Shibusa“(2012), “Rift Patterns“ is Monty Adkins‘ third full album release for the Audiobulb label.

It’s a digital download release (no physical counterpart) that comes with an interactive iBook containing music, text, moving image and film, created by Deborah Templeton (writer), Jason Payne (video artist), and Stephen Harvey (photographer, graphic designer) in response to Monty Adkins’ music.

Monty Adkins – Four Shibusa

When I first read the title of Monty Adkins‘ latest album, “Four Shibusa”, I imagined a Shibusa  would probably be some kind of exotic Japanese wind instrument.

I was wrong: it turns out ‘Shibusa’ is a japanese concept ‘describing the inherent simplicity and beauty in everyday objects’.

(Shibusa) “refers to a particular aesthetic of simple, subtle, and unobtrusive beauty, and can apply to a wide variety of subjects, not just art or fashion”.

  • Shibui objects appear to be simple overall but they include subtle details, such as textures, that balance simplicity with complexity.
  • This balance of simplicity and complexity ensures that one does not tire of a shibui object but constantly finds new meanings and enriched beauty that cause its aesthetic value to grow over the years.
  • Shibui objects are not necessarily imperfect or asymmetrical, though they can include these qualities.
  • Shibusa walks a fine line between contrasting aesthetic concepts such as elegant and rough or spontaneous and restrained.

(Wikipedia – Shibui)

This description strikingly seems to apply to what most ‘ambient’ music tries to achieve…so there’s a good start for further investigation!