Matthew Shaw – Lanreath

It could reasonably be argued that to truly distill the essence of a physical location into sound is perhaps one of the key challenges for a great musician to adopt, doubly so when the artist in question does not make use of lyrics to convey the location or evoke striking imagery, but rather instead opts to make use of a palette of experimental guitar sounds and field recordings.

This task Matthew Shaw undertakes with Lanreath, an album based on the experiences, sounds and the atmosphere he felt while visiting a small village in South East Cornwall from which the work derives its name. Though not personally acquainted with the village in question, it was very easy for this listener to listen and immediately get lost in the romantic lure of that ancient area of the British Isles.

The Dorset based Shaw opens the roughly 45 minute long piece with field recordings and these remain the focus of the remainder of the release, interspersed with long droning strings and haunting harmonies. The work is very well mixed and smaller details of the captured sounds seem to come to the fore at the most opportune moment. Indeed, something of the way in which Shaw commands the atmosphere he captures brings to mind the talented Richard Moult, though the two artists are quite far apart from each other in method and it should be noted that Shaw moves in firmly his own direction.

Lanreath then, is a work which serves both as a fitting homage to the village of that name and a fine testament to the artists’ own sensitivity and skill at making a heretofore unfamiliar village seem so very alluring.

Lanreath is available now in a run of 100 copies through Apollolaan Recordings and Stashed Goods

- Adam Williams for Fluid Radio

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