Adrian Corker came to this album with an open approach, looking to put together a series of musical scenes and improvisations, setting moods rather than obvious melodies. What he’s come up with is something of a sonic treat on headphones, channelling some of the influence of Brian Eno and Gavin Bryars into something the likes of Jon Hopkins might come up with – a kind of marriage of acoustic and digital. Corker has achieved this by using a number of different recording locations, from his local pub to Valgeir Sigurðsson’s Greenhouse Studios in Iceland. Because of that we get a lot of different perspectives. ‘Circle Song’ features a mellow sax with piano and atmospherics, which sounds a lot more new age than it actually is, while ‘Raise, Pt. 2’ even uses a trombone to mellow effect. ‘Interdependence’ is a more basic piano affair, beautifully realised. Corker isn’t afraid of occasionally jarring the ear, though, and the violin of ‘Shifting Grains’ is dissonance that starts to really grate for a bit! When the sonorous and rich cello of ‘Blue’ takes over, mind, the mood is a lot more contemplative, almost like a prayer summons. Some of the music is unexpectedly emotional, but its ever changing sound worlds work a treat for both foreground and background listeners.
4 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
