Graham Reynolds reveals new singles ‘Long Island Sound’ and ‘Splendor Falls’ from his upcoming album ‘Mountain’, a socio-geographic trip along the sierra in your mind, filled with romantic orchestral sweeps conjuring up an image of a vast landscape disrupted by a singular peak.
“The quintessential modern composer” The Independent
“Ominous sounds of the natural world, in both its beauty and despair” The New York Times
Long Island Sound was the large body of water near where Graham grew up, lying between Long Island, which extends out from New York City, and Connecticut to the north. About the song, Graham explains: “As a kid the sound was so polluted that dead zones spread across the sea floor. After considerable regulatory efforts, life down there has started to rebound. This piece of music reflects on that, not declaring a clear mood, but more of an indecisive murkiness”.
‘Splendor Falls’ takes inspiration from a Tennyson poem of the same name: “Tennyson is a poet who has a special place in me. My paternal grandfather was reserved and I never felt like I knew him well. An ironworker earlier in life, then a woodworker after retirement, he often sat in his chair watching sports and talking little. Then one day, he came out with a Tennyson poem, reciting beautifully and completely from memory. There were surprising depths that remained a mystery. This piece works as a bit of an overture in reverse, mashing together fragments from through the album.”
Composed and performed by Graham Reynolds, with contributions from his rotating cast of musical compadres, the album was produced and mixed by mysterious English duo Peter Talisman. There are surprises throughout the album as Austin neighbour Jad Fair (Half Japanese) pops up with backing vocals along with Italian chanteuse Marta del Grandi whose evocative words on ‘Linger In Silence’ spark a wonderful re-awakening of the exquisite seven-minute stand-out ‘Prophet Harmonic’.
…as William Blake once said:
“Great things are done when men and mountains meet”
Live Dates
06 Dec: Rollins Theatre at the Long Center, Austin, TX, US
07 Dec: Rollins Theatre at the Long Center, Austin, TX, US
07 Feb: Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center, Miami, FL, US
08 Feb: Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center, Miami, FL, US
25 May: Cafe OTO, London, UK
