STEVEN R. SMITH & DIRK SERRIES - HYMNAL
cassauna 2016
"familiar as it is different from their individual sonic endaevours. Made with electric guitars, fender rhodes, organs and all various types of bowed instruments, this album is about organic evolution...constructed from the directness of each instrument, meticulously layered against each other, creating the drone. Four long-form mantra's, four harmonic themes that excel in their own beautiful organic progress over time." - CASSAUNA
stunning new tape from IMPORTANT's cassette imprint CASSAUNA - an SRS collaboration is a rare treat - before this there was only a couple lps with GARETH DAVIS from a few years back -- HYMNAL is a collection of four "hymns", semi improvised, dealing in elegant fermatas, lush instrumentation, rising, falling, intertwining - kinda like those minimal ambient interludes on late period TALK TALK albums stretched to the twenty minute mark, maybe landing somewhere between FLYING SAUCER ATTACK's INSTRUMENTALS and STARS OF THE LID's triple lps -- SERRIES brings his MICROPHONICS immersed atmospheric drone, SRS brings his ULAAN PASSERINE stargazing ambient folk -- HYMNAL seems an instant classic, way up there on my shortlist of epic ambient drone collaborations, in the same company as BARDO POND & TOM CARTER's 4/23/03 and TWELLS & CHRISTENSEN's COASTS, dare i even mention FRIPP & ENO, maybe -- i wasn't sure there would be a tape this year that would give FIVE GUITARS a run for it's money, let alone one so soon
highest possible recommendation
http://importantrecords.com/imprec/sauna28
LIMITED EDITION CASSETTES
