Considering who was involved in this Setting album, I was surprised and pleasantly so by the long-form drone and distant percussives that emanated from the speakers.
Ironically to me, it sounded more like rising than setting, and while the offset tones generated by synth, harmonium and others hint at Germanic intervention, the jostling percussion brings it back to the bristling woodlands of wild America, folk memories evoking acres of prime forest on the doorstep, shielding you from the greater world but allowing the influence of a gradually emerging sun. The back-porch rhythm evolves softly and suggestively, and you can’t help but feel nourishment from all around you as the sounds breathe and expand and further textural secrets spring to life.
There is a picked momentum that separates the second track “Zoetropics” from the first. The scudding tempo makes it a joyful thing with a lovely melancholic glide that highlights the juxtaposition between the gentle, almost static but slightly soaring backdrop and the constant simple energy of movement. As minor textures are added (what sounds like a xylophone), so the upper register becomes haunted by these surreal, viscous sounds, turning the whole piece delightfully dreamlike. The decision on how to propel each of the four long form pieces here was clearly deliberate and gives some great derivation; yet there is an overall introspective atmosphere that pervades the entire album, but the sort of introspection that warms the soul, giving you the opportunity to slow down and revel in time spent alone.The waterfall piano zither on “A Sun Harp” pushes us further up mountain passes, sweeps of cloud throw light and shade across a chuckling stream, full of springtime energy, constantly darting and shifting. Its ever changing subtle tumult is irresistible and ends up alive with sunlight as the day progresses. The gentle chords do tug at the heart; all through the album, they have managed to select progressions that just manage to insinuate themselves with a longing and once the final piece arrives, you are ready for its zen-like tones, a restful deliberation with a motif picked out and lingering in the cool air.
A glorious horn trip rises over a surprising barrage of rolling thunder percussion that changes the mood but prepares you, perhaps necessarily, for a deft conclusion. All in all, this album is a delightful surprise, the three players drawing on their original outdoor improv sessions and stretching them into something that can quietly invade the home and draw you into a world you didn’t know you needed.Whether Shone A Rainbow Light On is a one-off or the start of something meaningful, it is worth experiencing these lovely evocations of nature.
-Mr Olivetti-
