gareth hardwick - sunday afternoon - low point– lp – 17$
Originally released by Blackest Rainbow in a cd-r edition of 75 copies, this vinyl version of 'Sunday Afternoon' has been remastered and reissued for your appraisal.
The album, recorded in a single improvised take during the aforementioned time of day, formed the first of an ongoing series of audio studies. Employing a lap steel guitar as the only sound source, Hardwick then deliberately limited the equipment and additional processing used to the minimum in order to extract the purest tone from the instrument.
The resulting album is a placid dissolution of the lap steel into a natural blossoming harmonic. Whilst rooted in one major chord, the recording simultaneously reveals hidden timbres and overtones, its unhurried pace allowing the instrument to breathe and unveil new characteristics.
Having been remastered specifically for the vinyl format, additional clarity has been revealed within the recording, allowing the listener to submerge further within.
-low point
gareth hardwick & Machinefabriek - Lost In The Memory/Bathyale (Parts 2 & 3) - low point – lp – 15$
Side A - Gareth Hardwick’s contribution to this split LP is the latest in a flurry of releases this year, with each one only serving to cement his growing reputation as one of the UK’s leading experimental ambient artists. ‘Lost in the Memory’ is perhaps his strongest recording to date – an exquisite 15 minute piece that demonstrates both the rapid development of his approach to composition and his masterful technique and control of whichever instrument he chooses to pick up. In this case, Gareth turns his attention to the lap steel guitar, which whilst heavily processed and beautifully affected, remains recognisable. As the piece begins, a glissando chord progression develops through graceful swells and mournful slides, movements so delicate that they almost give the impression that you are listening to some forgotten requiem or arcane arrangement for a string quartet. In time, these movements settle upon one longing tone, a desolate lament for a feeling once held or moment now past. And then comes the coup de grace: an unexpected harmony elevates the piece and the arrangement flourishes: a moment of pure euphoria before the denouement of the final sombre chords.
Side B - Machinefabriek is the working name of Rutger Zuydervelt, a musician and graphic designer based in Arnhem, The Netherlands. Since beginning in 2004, his prolific output, formed through a series of limited monthly self-released 3" cds, collaborations and albums has been matched only by the unfeasibly high standard of these creations.
Machinefabrieks side of the release, 'Bathyale (Parts 2&3)' is a specially re-edited version of a 2006 recording originally intended for broadcast on VPRO's Zeldzaam Dwars. Over the course of 17 minutes, we are presented with a perfect overview of the myriad of styles that Rutger crams into his musical repertoire – processed hiss and static dissolve effortlessly into sublime melodic drones with bursts of controlled feedback acting as anchoring points to the composition. The result is a powerfully hypnotic yet strongly realised track that acts as the perfect compliment to both artists work.
-low point
gareth hardwick & others - aversions - low point– cdr – 11$
remix/collaboration album featuring contributions from Library Tapes, Apalusa, Xela, Steinbruchel, Strategy, Chris Herbert and Machinefabriek
Aversions' is the second full length album by Nottingham based musician Gareth Hardwick. The origins of the release occurred when a disastrous hard drive crash caused the loss of an entire album’s worth of new music. Disheartened with the thought of having to start afresh, an alternative form of evaluation was set in motion - a way of taking stock before moving on.
For that reason, Hardwick handed over his back catalogue (containing material ranging from split vinyl releases and compilation appearances to limited run cdrs and tapes) to several artists considered close friends and colleagues for them to reinterpret, remix or supplement the original material however they wished.
Although many remix projects often fall into the trap of inconsistency, each remix on 'Aversions' manages to perfectly encapsulate the individual approach and musical style of its artist, while also preserving the integrity of Hardwick's original material. The end result is a unique collaborative album, which manages to flourish from the adverse circumstances in which it was born.
-low point