Skjolbrot - Maersk

Our ever growing pile of promo's we get sent is a huge mission to tackle in terms of wading through stuff we think we should be stocking. It's a never ending process that can be daunting but ultimately rewarding. We have to endure all sorts of stuff from the amazing to the most ridiculously turgid sonic detritus imaginable but every now and again something will get played and my ears will stand to attention with a verbal "What the fuck is this????" response (that's my usual articulation of "This is bloody brilliant.") When someone in the office slipped this disc into the CD player I was grabbed immediately. To think that this disc is the debut release from Bristol based artist Daniel Bennett is fairly astonishing as it's such a deeply immersive sonic environment that works equally well on both speakers and headphones. Electronics, location field recordings, piano, choir and electro-acoustic / music concrete techniques are all deployed with a deft amount of skill and endless imagination resulting in a truly original and arresting set of tracks. The sound sources here range from recordings of supermarket refrigeration units, demolition equipment impacting on a shipbuilding shed in Plymouth through to a Senegal parrot and way beyond, yet everything is held together by a clear vision and conceptual narrative. This is the hidden sound of Bristol and a magnificently articulated audio travelogue of its nautical historical significance while simultaneously being a brilliantly articulated imagined sonic document of they city's industrial heritage. Closing track 'Emma' is just immense; dense, gorgeous, cascading sheets of blissful noise that give me shivers. Comes in lovely hand packaged CD while Touch are taking care of the digital download, so you can be assured of its quality. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Touch were to sign Daniel up for another release. Fingers crossed... As this is very highly recommended work from an artist that appears to have a bright future...