David Colohan, aka Raising Holy Sparks, plays harmonium and shruti on
his half of this monster two-hour collection, adding voice and field recordings
as well. “Triveni Sangam” “is the ‘confluence’ of three rivers,” according to
our pals at Wikipedia, which “is a sacred place for Hindus,” where “a bath …
[is] said to flush away all of one’s sins and free one from the cycle of
rebirth.” Colohan names the rivers in the title of his two works here, “At the
Confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna & Saraswati,” parts 1 and 2. His lengthy
ambient tracks flow like the titular rivers, wash away sins like the titular
rivers, and carry listeners out to sea like the titular rivers. Although it
turns out that the Saraswati is a mythical river, created when the goddess of
knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning (of the same name) was
changed into the body of water to quench “an all-consuming fire called
Vadavagni, … which could destroy the whole world.” We’re still here so it seems
to have worked!
DeclanQKelly plays harmonium, Yamaha PSS, electronic shruti, electronic
tanpura, electric guitar, and field recordings. He gets an assist from David
Colohan (“field recordings of helicopters passing over the woods”) and Enda
Trautt (Mrindigam). Over his four tracks on his two sides, he also invokes the
spirit of rivers (see, title), although his bear slow crafts under the branches
of spring trees. A kindred spirit to Colohan, Kelly wrings deep emotion and
spiritual longing from his voyage, and he exudes tranquility from every second.
The pieces lift, hover, and expand, spreading their good vibes outward in all
directions, bringing rest and hope after the long journey.
Abandon Reason is a label based in Galway, Ireland, and the Bandcamp
information on the site says this release, catalog number ABRE002, was released
in 2014, but it now apparently has found its way to me. It’s certainly never
too late to find something as wonderful as this. The Bandcamp page includes the
following technical specs: “Two home-dubbed recycled C60 cassettes.
Hand-painted acetate covers with photographic inlay card.Limited to 18 boxes.”
And this, from the liner notes: “The cassettes these recordings find themselves
on were found in various charity shops. The materials that previously existed
on them were converted to MP3 before being overwritten. Contact
reasonabandon@gmail.com if you would like to hear them.” I may just do that!
--Ryan
Posts
