We open fall with an autumnal CD of the Month, the debut album by Slow Meadow. Slow Meadow is Matt Kidd who previously made music as Aural Method. With the guidance of the post-rock band Hammock, Slow Meadow creates a serene expanse of elongated melodies and deep textures. This is music that owes as much to Arvo Pärt as Brian Eno.
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Steven Halpern released his first album of electric piano modalities, Spectrum Suite, in 1975. That makes 2015 his 40th anniversary as a recording artist. We talk to Halpern about the evolution of his music from the “anti-frantic alternative” to his concepts of sound healing.
Hans Christian’s Nanda Devi, the CD of the Month, leads the Echoes Top 25 for September. He’s followed closely by Silencio, Arstidir, and Briana Marela, all of whom played live on Echoes this month.
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Slow Meadow is the performance name of Matt Kidd who has collaborated with the band Hammock, but has created his own approach to ambient chamber music. We walk through the fields of Matt Kidd’s Slow Meadow.
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Michael Spriggs is an A-list session guitarist in Music City who has played on, and written, dozens of country hits. But when he goes home, he plugs in to a different sound, turning country into Ambient Americana, with touches of Celtic music.
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Chad Kettering started out as a classical trumpet player, but something happened on the way to the concert hall. He discovered synthesizers and started creating an orchestral electronic sound that’s part progressive rock and part New Age.
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Árstíðir is a band out of Iceland with an organic, acoustic sound that has roots in the harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Playing guitars, violin, piano and cello, these musicians create introspective songs on their latest album, Hvel.
The Echoes Top 25 for August finds Jesse Cook’s CD of the Month at the top, followed by July’s CD pick, Heather Woods Broderick’s Glider. Look at the bottom and you’ll see next month’s #1 album, our September CD of the Month, Hans Christian’s Nanda Devi.
Hans Christian is a classical cellist turned global music explorer. As a founding member of the Hind- Chant Fusion group Rasa and on his own solo albums he creates a global orchestra of the imagination playing instruments from India, Swedish Nyckleharpe, cello, lap steel, percussion and more.
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Clarinet isn’t an instrument you often hear in electronic music, but it’s a central part of the sound of Digitional the English ambient chamber music band headed up by Andrew Dobson. Along with violinist Samy Bishai, Dobson creates a music of haunting melodies and luxurious moods. Their latest album is Beautiful Broken, where they find a common ground between chilled electronic grooves and the modern classicism of Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt.