Edinburgh Of The Seven Seas - L'Âtre et l'enfant EP (RecordiauPrin)
CD / DL
8 / 10
Out Now
Mudbath
guitarist and songwriter releases a new EP.
This is
no ordinary guitar based instrumental EP, not by any means. Recorded in the Summer of 2016, L'Âtre et l'enfant
(The Beast And The Child) is the latest release from the rising Recordiau
Prin label, it features classically based acoustic guitar with a hint of the
alternative. It’s addictive listening in
all respects – the musicianship is fine and seems to follow no predetermined
agenda. It flows beautifully, almost
like water or birds in flight – fluid and meandering through unpredictable
soundscapes.
The
side project of Florian Mallet of Mudbath, Edinburgh Of The Seven Seas has
produced a fine piece of work. Intimate
yet distant, loving yet despising, it transcends the acceptable boundaries of
instrumentalism into something well worth anyone’s attention.
There
are additions of other guitars, keyboards and the odd reverb here and there in
a delicate but pleasing format, and the tracks are far from uneventful as La
Bienveillance clearly demonstrates with a simple riff often repeated, is joined
by gentle cavalcades of sound before progressing to an almost Spanish flamenco
sound.
Imagine
ambient or drone guitar work and you may be on the right tracks. Nuit Brune begins with gorgeously pleasing wisps
and whirls with a delightful guitar gentle plucking in the distance before a
more aggressive tact takes hold. It
closes by returning to the gentle calm of night-time silence before the
acoustic ripples of L’Eau Sourde take hold.
Bass-lines
play as big a part as the main guitar itself, underpinning the main play and
gelling everything in place. Closing
track, Le
Val Impénétrable is uplifting and joyous and soon breezes
through almost five minutes. A slowing
steam engine passes through the valley in the title making affectionate nods at
the beautiful scenery it passes before disappearing and fading into the
horizon.
L'Âtre et l'enfant
is a surprise. The prospect of
neo-classical ambient guitar sounds like a nightmare from the 70s but it is far
from that. Accomplished and expertly
played it brings a refreshing sound to the fore. Florian Mallet has created a work of
incredible texture and interest here, and the prospect of more work in a similar
vein is mouth-watering to say the least.
Bandcamp
Published on Louder Than War 25/03/17 - here
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