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The Singers And Harp Players Are Dumb

by Hwyl Nofio

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1.
Black River 03:05
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Angel Tits 05:49
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credits

released October 30, 2020

Hwyl Nofio were:
Steve Parry
with:
Trevor Stainsby
Sandor Szabo
Fredrik Soegaard
Balazs Major

Produced by: Steve Parry & Trevor Stainsby
Engineer: Trevor Stainsby
Recorded: Yorkshire and South Wales: Jan - Aug 1998.
Sleeve: Type B-people
Photography: Steve Jadd

All compositions written by Steve Parry
All songs published by HWYL Publishing

This album is dedicated to: Julie, Amy and Vicky Parry. Jerusalem Lane is dedicated to my mother and father: John Vivian Parry and Anne Rosemary Parry.

Special thanks: Trevor Stainsby, Sandor Szabo, Balazs Major, Fredrik Soegaard.
Thank you: Gilbert Isbin, Peter Stimson, Keith Laws, Bill Nelson

REVIEW:-
Multi instrumentalist and composer Steve Parry has produced a work of haunting beauty and timeless depth in The Singers his ethereal piano chimes and drone-like resonance pervade this album. In a slowly unfolding landscape that seems to defy time, these pieces feel less composed than discovered: lingering like mists swirling and eddying in frost hollows. The listener almost comes upon them by accident. They are delicate yet surprisingly robust pieces of music that both unnerve and settle with equal measure. There is something austere about Parrys modus operandi that makes every note and their place in the ensuing soundscape feel significant but also ascetic yet this is coupled with a purity of spirit that makes this music ultimately benevolent.
It unfolds with consummate ease and in a manner that feels almost predestined and presents beautifully contrasted aural textures. Gravitate To The Green Hut is a good example. Parrys church organ drone builds with cyclical simplicity only to be interrupted by an exquisite banshee wail that destabilises the initial mood of the track. Throughout, compositional concepts are both elemental in structure and metaphor. Simple, yet texturally disparate, elements combine in unpredictable patterns and Stainsbys overall engineering prowess produces absolute clarity of sound, doing deserved justice to the level of compositional integrity. The layers of sampled sound input are also highly subtle: sometimes just a hint to provide an undertone or, as in the case of The Celestial Male Voice Choir on the eponymous track, providing a momentary but indisputable presence. Parry sites both John Cage and Jimi Hendrix as inspiration but the combination that immediately comes to mind, not so much in style as in attention to layered detail and the resultant overall mood, is Brian Enos work with David Bowie. There is the same slightly mournful essence and feeling of impending desolation. This is even echoed in the hidden portion of the last track, Glass Floor No Door, where a flock of bleating sheep have the final say. This trait must not be mistaken for morbidity; indeed Parrys work exhibits much that is life affirming, yet the overall ambience is one of melancholy.
John Cratchley

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Hwyl Nofio UK

Band originated in 1997, whose name, translated from Welsh, means "Emotional Swimmers", which more or less defines their music. You can describe it as experimental, avant-garde, ambient, but mostly free improvisation. It simply blurs the boundaries of musical styles. The band is based around its originator Steve Parry. ... more

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