The Hardy Tree - The Fields Lie Sleeping Underneath

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release
Soundclips

5...according to our Mike on Wed 14 Dec, 2011.

When I picked this one out of the reviews pile, I thought that the lovingly handmade covers with hints of pastoral Victoriana meant that I was in for some kind of knowingly twee folk situation, but I'm finding myself pleasantly surprised. The Hardy Tree is in fact a pseudonym of Frances Castle (who has previously recorded under the name Transistor Six), and this album is a somewhat experimental collection of organic-sounding bedroom electro acoustic music with a gentle pace to allow the listener to fully be absorbed into her world of smooth tones and gentle melodies. That's not to say that the artwork's Victoriana seems out of place; there's a definite sense of both musical and lyrical themes unearthing history and approaching it from a more modern viewpoint. With a carefree simplicity to its structures it feels like future music from the past, comforting like a hand-painted Dan Dare comic. Synthesisers and loops and programmed beats accompany live strings and xylophone and vocals to make something where the influence of machines pervades everything but never overpowers the organic elements of the music. I wasn't kidding about the covers, either. Castle's designed and printed them herself and her illustration style is devastatingly charming - the three colour urban fox print on the front cover alone is worth the price of this CD, and the canvas-bound booklet is a treat too.

To play these clips you need to either update your browser (Norman Records recommends Google Chrome) or update your Flash plugin.

The Hardy Tree is the new musical project of Frances Castle who previously recorded as
Transistor Six.

The music on 'The Fields Lie Sleeping Underneath' was inspired by Frances' local London
neighborhood - a soundtrack to the past beneath the pavements, its early grass covered
hills, Victorian heyday, and 20th century sprawl.

Recorded at home in an attic room over a year, she has patched and stitched together
a jigsaw puzzle of sounds that hint at audio memories from lost TV programmes, ghost
orchestras, cinema organs, folk song, static and crackle.

Amongst the album’s ten tracks you’ll find the tale of the tragic demise of Walter R Stokes,
an instrumental evocation of waltzes at Finsbury Park’s long defunct Astoria Theatre, and
confirmation from the title track that memories of the past are slumbering under today’s
hectic urban lifestyle.

This is the second edition of a hundred copies in lovely yellow orche. It is hand-printed by
Frances herself, and includes a booklet of her illustrations.

The album is released on Frances’ label Clay Pipe Music. The label concentrates on
releasing limited-run CDs with hand-crafted beautifully designed covers. Frances made
the front of Decembers Dazed and Confused magazine due to Jarvis Cockers support of
the label. 2012 promises to be a good year for Clay Pipe with a host of releases planned.

For information regarding the album, The Hardy Tree or Clay Pipe Music, please contact
Frances at: