Part Timer - Real To Reel

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4...according to our Brian on Thu 02 Dec, 2010.

There's a lot of folk out there like this Part Timer dude. I kind of like him too. In a world where music is always trying to drive itself up its own arse in the name of progression & innovation, it's constantly reassuring to hear this gentle, pastoral folk style stuff. In an increasingly hectic world I appreciate these quietly evocative & relaxing sounds. Sometimes perky & melodic with a jaunty mandolin, other parts hazy & soothing, then there'll be a moving cinematic piece with a yearning melancholic edge. All infused with occasional field recordings & constantly inspired use of space & timing. Phil suggests a similarity at one point to the largely defunct Leeds act Empress. Many tracks have a lovely well-paced & hushed tenderness to them. Throughout, the quality is consistent, at its finest, these not so old-timers conjure up a strong marriage of organic folk elements & elegant chamber atmospherics. This could be their best yet, I dunno! I'm charmed nonetheless.

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The music of Part Timer has a rare kind of stillness and beauty, an ambient
pastoral folk that evokes sunshine glistening through dew on a cold winters
morning. His music is the antidote to bluster, an opportunity to step away from
the noise and freneticism of daily life and sink into a world of stately simplicity. It
moves along like a gentle exhale of breath, a lush, sublime, shimmering beauty,
evolving slowly, the gentle strumming of guitar, low organ drones, melodica,
glockenspiel, ukulele or tin whistles, all flowing together like a hushed whisper
designed solely for your ears. Then there's these understated electronic
ourishes that skitter around the edges, an earthy organic form of digitalia that
occasionally provides a certain textural density to the tunes, like a frequency
beamed in from afar.

Part Timer is the alias of John McCaffrey, a Northern Englander now based in
Melbourne Australia. He's amassed a slew of releases for UK's Moteer & Mobeer
label, Under the Spire, and Japan's Flau respectively, whilst also releasing two
albums of electronica in his duo Clickits with Jonny Russell. Yet Real to Reel is an
unmistakable progression in his craft. Recorded over the last few years it's less
beat orientated than it's predecessors, a suite of loose rustling electro organic
soundscapes, over which the likes of Nicola Hodgkinson from Leeds three piece
Empress, Melbourne songstress Heidi Elva (who also contributes harp), and
John's wife Danielle intone gracefully. In fact there's a greater balance of vocal
to instrumental pieces than ever before. He also enlists extraordinary Kansas
based artist Aaron Martin who contributes mournful cello, providing additional
gravity to McCaffrey's introspective musings.

Using Spanish field recordings, a bass drum sound from a battered water tank,
and what sounds like the signature arsenal of house hold contraptions we come
to expect from Part Timer, Real to Reel actively plays upon the process of
capturing the real world on a recording medium. McCaffrey talks of the role of
recorded media in supplanting 'real' memories. "Like having a memory from
when you're a kid, but being unsure whether you actually remember it, or
whether it's because you've always seen that photo in your parents album."
Ultimately Real to Reel is music for waiting, for opening up time and creating
space, allowing the listener to enjoy each delicate gesture, each subtle movement.
It's gorgeous drifting music, thirteen mesmerizing pieces that offer a
gentle emotion laden respite from the bustle and bluster of daily life.

Tracklisting:

1. The Distance Between One (feat. Danielle McCaffarey)
2. Campsite Sundown
3. Unfound (feat. Heidi Elva and Aaron Martin)
4. A Long Inhalation
5. Suspended Belief
6. The Runner (feat. Heidi Elva and Aaron Martin)
7. Where We Used To Go (feat. Nicola Hodgkinson and Aaron Martin)
8. Interalia (feat. Aaron Martin)
9. In Your Hand
10. Untold, Unfold (feat. Danielle McCaffrey)
11. It’s A Storm
12. Never Meant To Be (feat. Heidi Elva and Aaron Martin)
13. Taken Along Quietly

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