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2LP
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KK 130LP
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This River Only Brings Poison was released in 2002 as the sixth full-length album of Chris Hooson's Dakota Suite project. This first-ever vinyl edition of the record includes four bonus pieces and makes it possible for fans to re-evaluate one of the most crucial Dakota Suite albums in the project's vast discography while also providing new listeners with an entry point into its intricate musical cosmos. With contributions by artists as diverse as steel guitarist Bruce Kaphan and drummer Tim Mooney from American Music Club, Derald Daugherty, and Laura and Chris Donohue as well as long-time collaborators such as David Buxton, Colin Dunkley, and Ed Collins, This River Only Brings Poison turned out as a sonically rich and stylistically versatile as it is emotionally multi-layered.
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CD
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GR 742CD
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"This record is a collection of songs having come through a quite difficult period of my life, the trilogy of records that came before this one (The End of Trying, The North Green Down, and The Side of Her Inexhaustible Heart) documented a very sad time for me and my family. However this new record, while not exactly 'disco,' does, I hope, contain a more positive outlook in general. I do feel everyday is a painful struggle, but people bring me kindness and I wanted to reflect that also. The songs are once again a small window into specific cinematic moments I have lived through, but I also tried to think more about the different atmospheres I have been creating in isolation and to fuse them more sympathetically into one record. I had become tired of the conventional 'band' structure of these types of songs, I didn't want to revert to tried and tested methods but to push towards something a little bit more interesting to my ears. This record is an attempt to expose the core of the song as it was intended, so at times I recorded many versions of the same song but most often ended up using the stripped-down versions and exposing my voice and guitar as solo instruments more frequently. I have also historically avoided electronic instruments, but I find that I have always listened to synthesized music as far back as Brian Eno's early ambient series and more latterly with music from people like Four Tet, so on this record, I allowed David [Buxton] more freedom to inculcate the record with organic and generated sounds, if he felt it would enhance the song. I am glad that I did. I also had the pleasure to play with various people like Quentin [Sirjacq] again, John Shepard as always, but even new friends like Dag Rosenqvist. Everyone took it someplace I wouldn't have ended up alone. These songs once again are all small hymns to my trusted friend and partner for life, Johanna, she for whom all my songs are small gestures with which to thank her for her grace towards me, which is constant. She's a remarkable woman and without her I would truly live a silent life, it is she who saves me every morning from something much more bleak." --Chris Hooson
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LP+CD
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GR 742LP
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180 gram LP version with CD. "This record is a collection of songs having come through a quite difficult period of my life, the trilogy of records that came before this one (The End of Trying, The North Green Down, and The Side of Her Inexhaustible Heart) documented a very sad time for me and my family. However this new record, while not exactly 'disco,' does, I hope, contain a more positive outlook in general. I do feel everyday is a painful struggle, but people bring me kindness and I wanted to reflect that also. The songs are once again a small window into specific cinematic moments I have lived through, but I also tried to think more about the different atmospheres I have been creating in isolation and to fuse them more sympathetically into one record. I had become tired of the conventional 'band' structure of these types of songs, I didn't want to revert to tried and tested methods but to push towards something a little bit more interesting to my ears. This record is an attempt to expose the core of the song as it was intended, so at times I recorded many versions of the same song but most often ended up using the stripped-down versions and exposing my voice and guitar as solo instruments more frequently. I have also historically avoided electronic instruments, but I find that I have always listened to synthesized music as far back as Brian Eno's early ambient series and more latterly with music from people like Four Tet, so on this record, I allowed David [Buxton] more freedom to inculcate the record with organic and generated sounds, if he felt it would enhance the song. I am glad that I did. I also had the pleasure to play with various people like Quentin [Sirjacq] again, John Shepard as always, but even new friends like Dag Rosenqvist. Everyone took it someplace I wouldn't have ended up alone. These songs once again are all small hymns to my trusted friend and partner for life, Johanna, she for whom all my songs are small gestures with which to thank her for her grace towards me, which is constant. She's a remarkable woman and without her I would truly live a silent life, it is she who saves me every morning from something much more bleak." --Chris Hooson
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CD
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KK 059CD
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Following the release of The End Of Trying (KK 046CD) on Karaoke Kalk in 2008 and 2009's The Night Just Keeps Coming In (KK 051CD), Dakota Suite are back with a new album of equally mesmerizing beauty. The band are led by Chris Hooson and completed by David Buxton and previously also Richard Formby. They released their first album in 1998 and The Hearts Of Empty marks the significant milestone of being the band's 10th full-length studio album. All the compositions on The Hearts Of Empty are performed by David Buxton with a perfectly sparse instrumentation. This sublimely minimal combination of piano, double-bass and percussive brushes makes for a truly captivating sound. David really exhibits a mastery both in the concise nature of the arrangements as well as in their precise delivery. Every note sounds as if it is played with directed emotion, carefully placed and skillfully executed. Of course, it's a cliché from the jazz scene, "it's the notes you don't play..." but the grain of truth within this generalization certainly applies to Dakota Suite. Their music is at times sombre, meditative and withdrawn, but never is it forced or over-cluttered. Every melodic and rhythmic change seems to flow naturally with the result that the music creates a wonderfully relaxed listening environment. Indeed, jazz has a strong musical influence on the style of the songs; most noticeable in the lilting piano refrain of "Eskimo Nebula" and the impeccable rim-shot and brushes drum work on "Vermont Canyon Road." And while this rich, organic acoustic timbre pervades the entire album, there are a few exceptions, such as the scientifically-titled interlude "M-Theory" and the entrancing ambient tune "The Ladder," which see a brief excursion into the more digital world of experimental electronics through the use of synths and looping. The energy of the recordings conveys a well-defined mood, such as on the title track, which is reserved yet uplifting at the same time. Although Dakota Suite may be inspired by jazz, they have taken it in an entirely different direction. The Hearts Of Empty goes way beyond the traditional concept of a jazz trio, foraying into fields such as new music, experimental and neo-classical, amongst other new terrains.
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CD
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KK 051CD
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The Night Just Keeps Coming In is the legitimate follow-up to Dakota Suite's The End Of Trying, featuring mostly subdued sound animations, flowing piano harmonies and smooth cello arrangements. Mind you, this is not a new Dakota Suite album, but a collection of adaptions and remixes, created and produced by an illustrious band of musicians -- well-known protagonists in the spheres of classical composition as well as new electronic music. The mixture could be looked at as a remake of Dakota Suite's previous album, too. The original tracks recount the sorrow and the pain the composer from Leeds is suffering from. Without any vocals or guitars, each song construes its own emotional history. The American cellist David Darling contributes to the sublime atmosphere along with artists such as Machinefabriek, Peter Broderick and The Boats who all breathe new life into the individual songs, amplifying either their gracefulness, as in Jasper Leyland's mix of "Hands Swollen With Grace," or their tragedy; for example, when Hauschka sets to music "A Quietly Gathering Tragedy" from his own perspective. Elegi's version of "All The Love I Had Was Not Enough" will send shivers down your back, "Very Early One Morning On Old Road" keeps the tension high, too. Although The End Of Trying is unique in its originality, the different adaptions just as well manage to find a suitable harmony between neo-classic and classical electronica. Particular, but very intriguing. Other artists include: Deaf Center, Arve Henriksen, Greg Haines, Hannu, Tape, Swod, Jacaszek, Emanuelle Errante, Loscil, and Dakota Suite and Nick Hawley.
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CD
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KK 046CD
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This is the first release for Liverpool's Dakota Suite on the Karaoke Kalk label. Chris Hooson is the main singer/songwriter for the trio and it is an extremely personal guitar project that deals with tragedies in Chris' life and the constant ups and downs in the success of his favorite team, FC Everton. One thing's for certain, we're not talking about happy music here. The track titles on the albums Alone With Everybody (1996), The Way I'm Sick (2002) or Waiting For The Dawn To Crawl Through And Take Away Your Life (2007) on Glitterhouse Records already point out some of this sensitive man's feelings. Deeply sad melodies and melancholy pain are also the main emotions on The End Of Trying, but we're not talking about sadness in the form of self-pity. Hooson focuses on understated sounds like flowing piano chords and a flexible cello arrangement, while fellow members David Buxton and Colin Dunkley take turns on the piano. American cellist David Darling wonderfully accentuates Hooson's harmonic sadness with his stylish string instrument. Darling has made soundtracks for Wim Wenders and also was nominated for a Grammy Award for his album Cello Blue. Together, Dakota Suite and Darling form a striking ensemble which by no means only have depressing moments -- their music is very soothing, too. The recordings were made in various houses in Leeds and at Darling's home in Goshen, Connecticut. Chris realized a life long dream recording the album with his all-time favorite cellist. He doesn't usually find life so great. He only gets the strength to survive from collaborations like this, a healthy portion of cynicism which he otherwise channels into his lyrics, and above all, through his peaceful and sentimental sound experiences.
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