Not long to go now for what is undoubtedly going to be one of the albums of the year...
Ian M Hazeldine records under the alias Antonymes, hailing from Hawarden, a small village in North Wales, whose most famous inhabitant was William Ewart Gladstone. He creates atmospheric melodies, using various pianos, celesta, strings, church organ and field recordings, and has had releases on Soundcolours, Cathedral Transmissions, Hidden Shoal, Time Released Sound and Rural Colours.
With a long standing interest in music making and active listening, Hazeldine works with any influences, from his surrounding landscape to the artists he has worked with. His compositions often take on a semi-improvised structure with accidental atmospheres used as a starting point. As well as his own projects, Hazeldine also works with Marconi Union’s Richard Talbot, under the name Prospector. He also works as a graphic designer, film maker and photographer, having art directed many of the Hibernate releases including our critically acclaimed vinyl series, and has worked with many other artists and labels including Facture, Field Rotation and Olan Mill.
In late 2009 Antonymes released ‘Beauty Becomes the Enemy of the Future’ on Cathedral Transmissions of which the CD is now unavailable. Since then he has revisited the album, which has culminated a new release, ‘There Can Be No True Beauty Without Decay’. Hazeldine’s own reworkings are intertwined with those of friends Ian Hawgood, Isnaj Dui, Offthesky, Field Rotation, Wil Bolton, Spheruleus and James Banbury to create an album of captivating melancholy and beauty. The guest reworkings venture into other, darker territories, where one might be harder pressed to identify the original material.
The sleeve features beautiful images of the North Wales landscape by Richard Outram, fitting the music perfectly.
Credits:
Mastered by Jason Corder (offthesky.com)
Photography by Richard Outram and Ian M Hazeldine
Art Direction by Ian M Hazeldine