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LP
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FLOAT 003LP
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Float welcomes their second artist into the fold. UK electronic artist and Szun Waves band member Luke Abbott, presents a special ten-track album to celebrate Piano Day 2019 (March 29th) -- an international event series initiated by Nils Frahm which acts as a platform for piano-related projects. Music From The Edge Of An Island sees Abbott divert from his typically experimental electronic style to explore a more compositional approach centered around VST instruments. Rather than the usual themes of synthesis and improvisation, the album is led by piano motifs, structured around emotive melodies and sparkling arrangements. The record began as a part of a soundtrack commission by producer/actor Jessica Hynes for her film The Fight and ultimately became a fully-realized album. The film script had a coastal setting that created the record's thematic idea: "I had this idea about being on the edge of England, almost ready to fall off a cliff into the sea but keeping your balance on the edge." The idea of writing for the piano had been ruminating for some months as Abbott found himself spending an increasing amount of time playing on the instrument. Without a piano of his own though, he found a strangely enchanting way to fulfil his creative impulse. "I used to have an upright piano, but I'd given it away when I last moved house, so I ended up using a piano VST in the computer, which I actually really enjoyed. Writing the music became a bit of a weird fantasy process." The writing process was remarkably quick, resulting in simple yet inspired pieces that subtly blur the lines between MIDI computer music, and live performance. Music From The Edge Of An Island can be seen as a collection of gentle reveries that sway between the twilight hours, marked by moments of soft, contemplative ballads and more active and expansive motions. Opening track "Sea" begins with a mysterious piano waltz before unnerving synth drones take over. "Island" continues with piano triplet figures plus added orchestration of cello strokes and airy glass pads, before heading into the melancholic "Tree", bringing in more strings and added pathos heard in the restless piano motif. Quieter passages are contrasted with the Gamelan-esque "Moments" and the uplifting "On Rope", whilst more lyrical moments on the album can be found in tracks such as "Adjustment" and closing track "A Different Tree".
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LP
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FLOAT 003LTD-LP
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Limited blue vinyl version. Float welcomes their second artist into the fold. UK electronic artist and Szun Waves band member Luke Abbott, presents a special ten-track album to celebrate Piano Day 2019 (March 29th) -- an international event series initiated by Nils Frahm which acts as a platform for piano-related projects. Music From The Edge Of An Island sees Abbott divert from his typically experimental electronic style to explore a more compositional approach centered around VST instruments. Rather than the usual themes of synthesis and improvisation, the album is led by piano motifs, structured around emotive melodies and sparkling arrangements. The record began as a part of a soundtrack commission by producer/actor Jessica Hynes for her film The Fight and ultimately became a fully-realized album. The film script had a coastal setting that created the record's thematic idea: "I had this idea about being on the edge of England, almost ready to fall off a cliff into the sea but keeping your balance on the edge." The idea of writing for the piano had been ruminating for some months as Abbott found himself spending an increasing amount of time playing on the instrument. Without a piano of his own though, he found a strangely enchanting way to fulfil his creative impulse. "I used to have an upright piano, but I'd given it away when I last moved house, so I ended up using a piano VST in the computer, which I actually really enjoyed. Writing the music became a bit of a weird fantasy process." The writing process was remarkably quick, resulting in simple yet inspired pieces that subtly blur the lines between MIDI computer music, and live performance. Music From The Edge Of An Island can be seen as a collection of gentle reveries that sway between the twilight hours, marked by moments of soft, contemplative ballads and more active and expansive motions. Opening track "Sea" begins with a mysterious piano waltz before unnerving synth drones take over. "Island" continues with piano triplet figures plus added orchestration of cello strokes and airy glass pads, before heading into the melancholic "Tree", bringing in more strings and added pathos heard in the restless piano motif. Quieter passages are contrasted with the Gamelan-esque "Moments" and the uplifting "On Rope", whilst more lyrical moments on the album can be found in tracks such as "Adjustment" and closing track "A Different Tree".
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CD
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BC 045CD
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Four years of slow-burning success, on from the rolling primal rhythms and joyous arpeggios of his 2010 debut Holkham Drones (BCR 030CD/LP), Luke Abbott makes a bold return with his sublime second album offering, Wysing Forest. Comprising a series of improvised live recordings compiled into one rapturous movement and hallmarked by the majestic elegiac pastorals of the two-part "Amphis" theme, this is most definitely an album which is greater than the sum of its parts, designed to be listened to in one immersive go. Although only a pair of tracks -- "Free Migration" and "Highrise" -- approach the idiosyncratic lumpen danceability of Holkham Drones, it is thanks to Luke's perfectly-judged elegant transitional dynamics that neither piece feels out of place amongst the album's more mellow moments.
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LP
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BC 045LP
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LP version with digital download.
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CD
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BCR 030CD
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This is the debut album from Norfolk's Luke Abbott, channeling Britain's pagan heritage through an overwhelmingly satisfying electronic union of joyously Kraut-y arpeggios and rolling, primal rhythms. Abbott's Holkham Drones is a modern and decidedly British take on the Krautrock meme. Quirky, versatile, cerebral electronica that sits alongside Four Tet and Caribou in that middle ground between the dancefloor and home stereo, adaptable to both. "One of the finest left-field techno-electronica debuts of the year." --IDJ
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