Merchants Of Air
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Concerts
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Giveaways
  • Playlists
  • Shop
    • Merchants Of Air releases
  • About us
    • About Us
    • Writers Wanted
    • Logos and banner
    • Advertise
    • Mailinglist

Shannon Hayden - You See the World 

13/1/2016

Comments

 
modern classical / electronic
website

bandcamp

facebook

Foto
Picture
THISISNOTABANDSHIRT - exclusive shirt designs by members of Merchants Of Air
Classical music and modern day electronics, it's a passionate love story, filled with romance, beauty and emotions.  Some purists are clearly against such a love affair but even they can't deny that there are some amazing talents in this scene.  Well, purists can deny everything, that's true but let's not mind them.  Let's enjoy this fascinating album by Chicago based composer Shannon Hayden.

Hayden is a professionally  trained cellist who loves to bend the rules of the game a little bit.  Playing the cello since she was seven, she enrolled into the Yale School of Music at eighteen and worked with contemporary composers Ezra Laderman and David Lang.  However, she wanted to explore the range of her instrument and the possibilities it has when combined with electronics.

That exploration eventually resulted in this album, a collection of 'guerrilla classics'.  It opens with the mesmerizing song 'Vanished', which reminds me of acts like Banks or Austra, perhaps if they would work with Olafur Arnalds.  Imagine what magic that cooperation would bring forth.  Well, this is that kind of magic.  'Same' takes on a similar approach, be it darker, a bit more industrial related maybe but still hauntingly magical.

I really like the gloomy and moody sound of Shannon's music.  It has a warm but mythical atmosphere.  Yet, there are also a few odd surprises, like the folky, happy but a bit creepy 'Baggage'.  It's almost a country tune but accompanied by deep electronic percussion.  Then there's the very (too) short dark ambient 'Interlude', which is followed by another beautiful downtempo track 'Starshine'. 

Oh man, 'Starshine' is beautiful.  It reminds me a lot of Monophona.  It combines classical cello with downtempo ambient and atmospheric post-rock.  'Accelerator' is another surprising and somewhat bizarre track.  Comparing it to Zoviet France making an avant-garde classical piece wouldn't even be so far-fetched.  'Voices' brings back the dark ambient feel with its spooky sound and closer 'Silver Superstar' comes highly recommended for Apocalyptica fans (and Tangerine Dream fans too).

It's been awhile since I've turned a review into a song-by-song description.  I was actually planing on no longer doing that because I believe there are always some things the reader should discover for himself.  However, this album is so awe-inspiring that I had no choice but to mention each song separately.  So yes, I am going to recommend this album to any fans of gloomy, slow and emotional music.  Brilliant piece of work...


Serge

Comments
    subscribe to our newsletter

    Genres

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Ambient
    Avant Garde
    Avant-garde
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Children
    Classical
    Country
    Crust
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Jazz
    Darkwave
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Dream Pop
    Drone
    Drum & Bass
    Dub
    Dubstep
    EBM
    Electro
    Electronic
    Ethereal
    Experimental
    Folk
    Folk Metal
    Funk
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-hop
    Idm
    Indie
    Industrial
    Instrumental
    Jazz
    Krautrock
    Martial
    Math Rock
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Neo Classical
    Neo-classical
    Neo Folk
    Neo-folk
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Noise-rock
    Nu Metal
    Nu-metal
    Opera
    Pop
    Post Metal
    Post Punk
    Post Rock
    Progressive
    Psychedelic
    Psytrance
    Punk
    Reggae
    Rock
    Score
    Shoegaze
    Singer/songwriter
    Sludge
    Soul
    Southern Rock
    Speed Metal
    Stoner
    Symphonic Metal
    Synthpop
    Techno
    Thrash
    Triphop
    Trip-hop
    World

    Archives

    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

Find us on

facebook
google+
twitter
tumblr
​
minds

About Us

Contact
FAQ
Logos and banners
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.