I’ve never been to Austin, Texas, but something about the music produced there tells me that it must be either an incredibly beautiful area, or there’s just something very inspiring in the water. Like fellow Austinites Explosions in the Sky, our subjects Balmorhea produce chilling instrumental music to captivate the mind and charm the soul. But unlike the expansive guitar-driven post-rock of their better-known contemporaries, Balmorhea assemble more delicate, but no less affecting scores to the panoramas of Texas.

Balmorhea are the epitome of prolific. Formed only a few short years ago in 2006, they have released a record every year since their inception (bar the first, understandably). If the quality of their fourth full-length offering, ‘Constellations’, is to be taken as benchmark of quality for the rest of their work, then this is no mean feat.

I knew from the opening bars of To the Order of the Night that I was in for a treat. The piano melody raised those little hairs on the back of my neck: more than a response to the chilly February weather outside I can assure you. That a group of people playing their instruments in a studio four thousand miles away can make me feel so completely in the room with them displays poise and talent in equal measure.

What marks this record as special is the notes that they don’t play, just as much as the ones that they do. There is a clear feeling of the deliberate placement of each chord, of each new layer and section. It manages this caution, however, without ever losing its ability to move.

It’s hard to pick a favourite track, because each one has something special; that tingle-inducing quality. The joyous banjo part and simple yet perfectly-placed drums in Bowspit; the almost vocal quality of the guitar in Night Squall. Steerage and the Lamp feels like the album’s centrepiece, but that’s more due to its length and position within the flow of the album than any hierarcy of quality.

The album closes on the simply devine Palestrina. That sense of calculated consideration is never more evident than here. A haunting drone builds through violin strings and sober choral vocals to a series of flawlessley appointed chords, and leaves you with an elegant feeling of calm and well-being.

- Review by Chris Grenville for Fluid Radio

www.balmorheamusic.com
www.westernvinyl.com

Thursday April 8th 2010 may well be remembered as the first day spring hit London…

A faultless sky and healthy temperatures had forced my hand into walking from the city to Bardens Boudoir, Dalston for what promised to be a night of musical wonder. As I neared my destination, I passed a group of happy, neatly presented and slightly lost looking Texans. I decided against an introduction and pressed onto the destination.

Upon arrival it was disappointing to discover that Bardens Boudoir was a windowless basement, perhaps better suited as protection from the torrents of winter than a distraction from the blossoming of spring. Nonetheless, and despite being early, I decided to turn my back on the setting sun and soak up the pre show atmosphere.

On stage a drum kit, electronic piano, a collection of guitars and an imposing double bass all rested in wait for the music that would follow.

Nils Frahm, the exceptionally talented pianist from Germany, cast both a modest and slightly despondent figure as he entered the stage. His modesty stemmed from his “surprise” at the popularity of the show (which was suitably crowded), and his disappointment lay in what was a lack of a real piano. Fortunately, after taking his seat by the electronic substitute, and asking the audience and bar staff to respectfully mute their ambience, Nils let his hands and feet do the talking.

The set was predominantly a fusion between his two records, “The Bells” and “Wintermusik,” using “In The Sky And On The Ground” from the former record as an intro and outro to what sounded like a reworking “Tristana” from the latter. As with all of Nils’ music, he successfully balanced the melancholic and uplifting passages of his music via the gentle intimacy that befits his demeanour. All the while his left foot swung furiously beneath the piano, reflecting his active mind’s improvised thoughts. The set concluded with a duet between Nils and Rob Lowe from Balmorhea.

Like Nils’ set, Balmorhea opened theirs with the first track from their latest record “Constellations.” “To The Order Of The Night,” is a peaceful piano song, wildly different from the expansive numbers found on their third LP “All Is Wild, All Is Silent.” “Bowsprit” also from the new record followed this, warming the crowd as all the instruments, including violin, cello, double bass, banjo and percussion came to life.  Tracks like “Settler,” “Coahuila,” and “Harm and Boon” from the third LP all made appearances. “Settler” and “Harm and Boon” were performed with copious amounts of energy, and the audience caresses and hand holding that were evident during tracks like “Steerage and the Lamp” and “Night In The Draw” transformed into foot stomping and bopping heads as these songs unravelled.

Remarkably the last time Balmorhea played in London there were only 5 audience members. It is a testament to their prolific output (4 albums in 3 years), that they are now pulling in the punters and such was the success of the show, an encore was demanded, and the group provided two songs much to the delight of the crowd.

Having shunned the sunset earlier in the evening, I expected to waltz into the Dalston evening accompanied by a clear sky, stars and moon. Alas the clouds had already gathered, and such is the unpredictable nature of the British weather, I initially thought the first day of spring had concluded somewhat disappointingly. Fortunately, I was able to reflect on the night of music, and realised that Nils Frahm and Balmorhea had already painted a perfect night’s sky, a constellation that was only visible within the confines of Bardens Boudoir. – Review by Josh Atkin for Fluid Radio

www.balmorheamusic.com
www.myspace.com/nilsfrahm

This month brings with it another strong line up of releases from our top 10 selection all doing the rounds on both broadcast channels at the moment…

1. Eleh – Location Momentum

Eleh has been an enigma since the first record under that name was released in 2006. In numbered editions with letterpressed sleeves, usually on Important Records from the U.S.A., these vinyl-only releases were evidently a labour of love and attention. Further recordings have been released on the labels Taiga and Touch, making 11 vinyl editions in all. Full details here

2. Aaron Martin – Worried About The Fire

It is an album that slowly lures you in. Starting with downright dark, hypnotic drones, “Albee” is an unnerving opening laced with subtle string sounds over a looping humming of noise. It’s a track that offers no clues as to what will follow, and indeed the set-up of harmonica, banjo, organ and bell sounds that feature on this album throughout bring an ambiguity to the overall sound. Full details here

3. Monolyth & Cobalt – Rives

Mathias works with many acoustic instruments like Harmonium, Piano, Various Strings, melodica and some human sound such as breath on tape. He also uses modern technology inclusing samplers, sequencer & effects processors but his cinematic soundscapes never lose their organic feel and human emotion. Full details here

4. Danny Paul Grody – Fountain

Centered around sparkling acoustic guitar motifs, the album unfolds as a series of hypnotic mood pieces and evening hymns with a spectral lyricism invoking scenes of moving images and passing landscapes. Conceived from a collection of home recordings made over the course of a year, the album perfectly distills many of the musical forms from which Grody gravitates towards, namely the chiming kora music of West Africa, the 70’s wave of American underground acoustic guitar players, and a number of long form / drone composers and performers. Full details here

5. Balmorhea – Constellations

The disarming simplicity of the tracks on Constellations proves that Balmorhea doesn’t need dense arrangements full of 180 degree turns to craft deeply affecting compositions. More than just self-imposed limitation, the scale of this collection of songs introduces a sense of intimacy and perspective through their skillful use of space and restraint. Full details here

6. A Broken Consort – Crow Autumn

Here is an album that requires great focus from the listener; such is the detailing of each track. Perhaps best suited for headphone listening, to be able to absorb all the rich texturing, Crow Autumn is also a deeply personal record for the recording artist, inspired here by the landscapes of his native Lancashire. Full details here

7. The Moving Dawn Orchestra – Dials

Electro-acoustic contemporary classical instrumentals: Dials is a graceful suite of four mid-length compositions with minimalist sparsity and contemporary beauty. The wistful pianos, rich with reverb; the sombre string textures and the absence of percussive beats give the music a seductive timelessness. Full details here

8. S – Im Not As Good At It As You

Im not as good at it as you, coming out on the Luxembourg-based label Own Records: Much like Sadstyle, the songs are deceptively sparse, though Ghetto’s breathy vocals are often layered with achingly-beautiful harmonies. The multi-directional guitar lines and break-neck tempo changes are again in effect, but it’s the maturity of the songwriting as a whole that makes this collection stand out from its predecessors. Full details here

9. Loscil – Endless Falls

Endless Falls is the fifth full length release by Scott Morgan under the loscil moniker. The album begins and ends with the sound of rain recorded by Scott in his back yard, precipitation being a constant presence in his home city of Vancouver. Many of the other sounds on the album are derived from these same recordings, processed and combined with other harmonic sounds to create the textures and drones. Full details here

10. Dollboy – Ghost Stations

The music on Ghost Stations finds Dollboy conjuring the haunted spirit of these stations, basing his atmospherically charged compositions on field recordings captured at sites on both the U-bahn and the London Underground. As he says in the accompanying notes: “I have tried to imagine the spirits of those that might have passed through: commuters, revellers, spies, worshipers and the decaying remnants of ghostly dance orchestras.” Full details here

The good folks over at Daytrotter recently invited Balmorhea to record live sessions that are all available as free downloads…

You can look anywhere and everywhere in the Balmorhea biography and the same goes for any band member contribution/instrumentation listings. You are not going to find a mention of any of the five members claiming their roles in the vocal department. It’s as if the brief interludes that we hear in their songs, where the spell of sole instrumental playing is broken, are highly suspect, as in the possibility that they are the works of other forces stepping invisibly up to the running microphones in the room and giving their harmonies or condolences in the case of these often sad and lonely songs. – Daytrotter

Full info on the sessions and download links from the Daytrotter web site site here

Also the new Balmorhea album ‘Constellations’ is out today and you can read a recent Fluid Radio review plus grab a free track here

Balmorhea’s latest project ‘Constellations’ sketches together a magnificent collection of acoustic/stringed compositions and slots into this weeks favored album with graceful ease.

Review from Chris Grenville…

I’ve never been to Austin, Texas, but something about the music produced there tells me that it must be either an incredibly beautiful area, or there’s just something very inspiring in the water. Like fellow Austinites Explosions in the Sky, our subjects Balmorhea produce chilling instrumental music to captivate the mind and charm the soul. But unlike the expansive guitar-driven post-rock of their better-known contemporaries, Balmorhea assemble more delicate, but no less affecting scores to the panoramas of Texas.

Balmorhea are the epitome of prolific. Formed only a few short years ago in 2006, they have released a record every year since their inception (bar the first, understandably). If the quality of their fourth full-length offering, ‘Constellations’, is to be taken as benchmark of quality for the rest of their work, then this is no mean feat.

I knew from the opening bars of To the Order of the Night that I was in for a treat. The piano melody raised those little hairs on the back of my neck: more than a response to the chilly February weather outside I can assure you. That a group of people playing their instruments in a studio four thousand miles away can make me feel so completely in the room with them displays poise and talent in equal measure.

What marks this record as special is the notes that they don’t play, just as much as the ones that they do. There is a clear feeling of the deliberate placement of each chord, of each new layer and section. It manages this caution, however, without ever losing its ability to move.

It’s hard to pick a favourite track, because each one has something special; that tingle-inducing quality. The joyous banjo part and simple yet perfectly-placed drums in Bowspit; the almost vocal quality of the guitar in Night Squall. Steerage and the Lamp feels like the album’s centrepiece, but that’s more due to its length and position within the flow of the album than any hierarcy of quality.

The album closes on the simply devine Palestrina. That sense of calculated consideration is never more evident than here. A haunting drone builds through violin strings and sober choral vocals to a series of flawlessley appointed chords, and leaves you with an elegant feeling of calm and well-being. – Chris Grenville

……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

About The Album:

Rob Lowe and Michael Muller, the songwriters and core duo of Austin’s Balmorhea (pronounced “bal-more-ay”), will release their newest full-length, Constellations, on the Western Vinyl label Februarly 23, 2010. Closely following the release of the group’s critically-acclaimed prior albums – All is Wild, All is Silent (2009) and Rivers Arms (2008) – Constellations further showcases the band’s songwriting and attention to detail, establishing Balmorhea as a major force in contemporary American independent music.

Balmorhea’s previous album All is Wild, All is Silent explored the freedom and isolation of settlers learning to live on an untamed frontier. It was an intensely physical album, dealing with the struggles of man on earth. By contrast, their new album, Constellations, shifts our focus to the cosmos and beyond, meditating solemnly on the mystical and metaphysical.

Steerage And The Lamp

The disarming simplicity of the tracks on Constellations proves that Balmorhea doesn’t need dense arrangements full of 180 degree turns to craft deeply affecting compositions. More than just self-imposed limitation, the scale of this collection of songs introduces a sense of intimacy and perspective through their skillful use of space and restraint.

For centuries humans have distilled order from the chaos of the night sky, turning a collection of bright dots into the framework for giants of myth and legend. Similarly, the tracks on Constellations serve as framework for our individual meditations on the wonders of time and space.

As the album captivates and inspires our imaginations by recreating the movements and colors of life, it often gives the listener the sense of being tossed about on the ocean, at the mercy of a reckless and merciless god. Ultimately we’re left with the euphoric release experienced as one realizes, for the first time, that his fate relies more upon the teasing whims of the unknown than any design of his own.

Track List:

01. To The Order Of Night
02. Bowsprit
03. Winter Circle
04. Herons
05. Constellations
06. Steerage And The Lamp
07. Night Squall
08. On The Weight Of Night
09. Palestrina

The beauty of Balmorhea’s sound has been a constant on Fluid Radio since we started out and it gives me great pleasure to announce a fantastic selection of experimental soundscapes compiled by band member Michael Muller…

Balmorhea Exclusive by Fluid Radio on Mixcloud

The beauty of Balmorhea’s sound has been a constant on Fluid Radio since we started out and it gives me great pleasure to announce a fantastic selection of experimental soundscapes compiled by band member Michael Muller…

Track List:

Hauschka : Flingern 
A Broken Consort : A momentary sun
Peter Broderick : Violin and mouth
Grouper : Vessel
Goldmund : Threnody (live at the triple door)
Bexar Bexar : A little more south
Nils Frahm + Anne Müller : Reminds to teeth
Helios : Isoline
Infinite Body : Gardens grew backwards
Machinefabriek : Ijspret 1
Magnolia Electric Co. : The old horizon
Rameses iii : No water, no moon
Tiny Vipers : Dreamer
J. Tillman : Age of man

Also the new album from the band is just round the corner and comes highly recommended…

Balmorhea’s previous album All is Wild, All is Silent explored the freedom and isolation of settlers learning to live on an untamed frontier. It was an intensely physical album, dealing with the struggles of man on earth. By contrast, their new album Constellations shifts our focus to the cosmos and beyond, meditating solemnly on the mystical and metaphysical.

The disarming simplicity of the tracks on Constellations proves that Balmorhea doesn’t need dense arrangements full of 180 degree turns to craft deeply affecting compositions. More than just self-imposed limitation, the scale of this collection of songs introduces a sense of intimacy and perspective through their skillful use of space and restraint.

For centuries humans have distilled order from the chaos of the night sky, turning a collection of bright dots into the framework for giants of myth and legend. Similarly, the tracks on Constellations serve as framework for our individual mediations on the wonders of time and space.

As the album captivates and inspires our imaginations by recreating the movements and colors of life, it often gives the listener the sense of being tossed about on the ocean, at the mercy of a reckless and merciless god. Ultimately we’re left with the euphoric release experienced as one realizes, for the first time, that his fate relies more upon the teasing whims of the unknown than any design of his own.

Balmorhea
“Bowsprit” (mp3)
from “Constellations”
(Western Vinyl)

www.balmorheamusic.com

Another quirky little video project from the ‘Take Away’ sessions…

More wonderful videos from Balmorhea…