I a Moon (album)
Encyclopedia
I a Moon is the third album by the English cross-disciplinary music ensemble North Sea Radio Orchestra
. It was released on July 4, 2011 on the Household Mark label.
, who composed the music for the album during the winter of 2010/2011. The album was recorded, edited and mixed at various locations in southern England on Fortnam's laptop computer, apparently following an unsuccessful attempt to record it in the "live" manner of the two previous albums.
The album marked several changes in approach for the NSRO, with Fortnam attempting to steer the project away from its cosy reputation. He has commented "I got a bit tired of reading reviews of (the NSRO's music) 'tolling through the sunlit glades' and all that. People have accused us of being twee, and if you only like The Ramones then we probably do sound fairly twee, that’s fine. But I always think it has a certain darkness that saves it from that, personally." Early press releases foregrounded the album's "darker, less pastoral sound", announced new influences including Krautrock
and the experimental indie band Deerhoof
, and revealed that the band's music would now feature more emphasis on synthesizer
and percussion than previously.
The second change of approach was a move away from the Victorian and Edwardian poetry settings of the first two albums in favour of Fortnam writing his own lyrics. Fortnam has commented that “I think I was slightly aware that I was removing myself a little bit (previously). Why cut down an avenue of self-expression? I was aware of that for the first time, really." This also resulted in a darker musical and lyrical tone, which Fortnam reveals "touches on tragic things that I’ve experienced, and that brings on more profound feelings." One of the major inspirations of the work was the plight of Fortnam's friend and mentor Tim Smith, who was incapacitated by a heart attack and series of strokes in 2008.
'I a Moon' was the first album to be released independently on Craig and Sharron Fortnam's own new label, The Household Mark.
, Julianna Barwick
and The Leisure Society
and commented on its "significant charm." BBC Review's Gary Mulholland hailed it as "the world’s first baroque
-Krautrock
-folk-rock-Michael Nyman
-madrigal
-Kate Bush
-electro-pop album" and as being "genuinely very beautiful." He also commented that "North Sea Radio Orchestra really should be smug, boring and irrelevant. So how do they make this stuff so exciting?... The words throughout the album feel like the thoughts of someone so outside of the real world that they can hover above themselves, watching their own futile attempts to connect, like a child watching ants and pondering whether to drown them. This alienated, superior feel is contrasted by the sheer beauty of Craig Fortnam’s melodies, which have that knack of suddenly shifting to the one chord available that can make spines tingle and toes curl with pleasure. Meanwhile, the arrangements wear their classical and ancient folk influences so lightly that a track like "Berliner Luft" can find itself sounding like Neu!
without need of drums nor electric guitars."
North Sea Radio Orchestra
North Sea Radio Orchestra is an English contemporary music ensemble and cross-disciplinary chamber orchestra ....
. It was released on July 4, 2011 on the Household Mark label.
Background
I a Moon was the first NSRO album to be produced in full by group leader Craig FortnamCraig Fortnam
Craig Fortnam is an English composer, conductor and musician. Fortnam is a skilled guitarist and bass guitarist, specialising in nylon-string acoustic guitar and also sings...
, who composed the music for the album during the winter of 2010/2011. The album was recorded, edited and mixed at various locations in southern England on Fortnam's laptop computer, apparently following an unsuccessful attempt to record it in the "live" manner of the two previous albums.
The album marked several changes in approach for the NSRO, with Fortnam attempting to steer the project away from its cosy reputation. He has commented "I got a bit tired of reading reviews of (the NSRO's music) 'tolling through the sunlit glades' and all that. People have accused us of being twee, and if you only like The Ramones then we probably do sound fairly twee, that’s fine. But I always think it has a certain darkness that saves it from that, personally." Early press releases foregrounded the album's "darker, less pastoral sound", announced new influences including Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
and the experimental indie band Deerhoof
Deerhoof
Deerhoof is a musical group consisting of Satomi Matsuzaki, John Dieterich, Ed Rodriguez and Greg Saunier.-Origins:In 1992, Greg Saunier, having recently graduated with a degree in music composition from Oberlin Conservatory of Music, joined a short-lived San Francisco quartet called Nitre Pit, on...
, and revealed that the band's music would now feature more emphasis on synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
and percussion than previously.
The second change of approach was a move away from the Victorian and Edwardian poetry settings of the first two albums in favour of Fortnam writing his own lyrics. Fortnam has commented that “I think I was slightly aware that I was removing myself a little bit (previously). Why cut down an avenue of self-expression? I was aware of that for the first time, really." This also resulted in a darker musical and lyrical tone, which Fortnam reveals "touches on tragic things that I’ve experienced, and that brings on more profound feelings." One of the major inspirations of the work was the plight of Fortnam's friend and mentor Tim Smith, who was incapacitated by a heart attack and series of strokes in 2008.
'I a Moon' was the first album to be released independently on Craig and Sharron Fortnam's own new label, The Household Mark.
Critical reception
Initial critical responses to I a Moon have been positive. The Rock Club compared the album to the work of Joanna NewsomJoanna Newsom
Joanna Newsom is an American harpist, pianist and singer-songwriter from Nevada City, California.- Early life :Newsom grew up in the small town of Nevada City, California...
, Julianna Barwick
Julianna Barwick
Julianna Barwick is an American musician who was born in Louisiana and raised in Brooklyn. Her music is built around multiple loops and layers of her voice...
and The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society is a band formed by Nick Hemming, formerly of early 1990s indie band She Talks To Angels which included actor Paddy Considine, film director Shane Meadows and bassist Richard Eaton. Hemming wrote and performed music for the films A Room for Romeo Brass and Dead Man's Shoes...
and commented on its "significant charm." BBC Review's Gary Mulholland hailed it as "the world’s first baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
-Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
-folk-rock-Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
-madrigal
Madrigal
-Music:* Madrigal , a European musical form of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries** Madrigal dinner, a form of dinner theater incorporating comedy, madrigals, and a feast...
-Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
-electro-pop album" and as being "genuinely very beautiful." He also commented that "North Sea Radio Orchestra really should be smug, boring and irrelevant. So how do they make this stuff so exciting?... The words throughout the album feel like the thoughts of someone so outside of the real world that they can hover above themselves, watching their own futile attempts to connect, like a child watching ants and pondering whether to drown them. This alienated, superior feel is contrasted by the sheer beauty of Craig Fortnam’s melodies, which have that knack of suddenly shifting to the one chord available that can make spines tingle and toes curl with pleasure. Meanwhile, the arrangements wear their classical and ancient folk influences so lightly that a track like "Berliner Luft" can find itself sounding like Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
without need of drums nor electric guitars."
Track listing
- Morpheus Miracle Maker (5:21)
- I a Moon (2:23)
- Guitar Miniature #3 (1:42)
- Heavy Weather (8:09)
- Berliner Luft (6:11)
- Morpheus Drone (2:25)
- The Earth Beneath Our Feet (5:31)
- Ring Moonlets (3:22)
- When Things Fall Apart (4:31)
- Mitte Der Welt (6:08)