Harold Budd & Clive Wright

Harold Budd, the so-called “Godfather of Ambient Music”, is squelching any rumors of his retirement as he keeps releasing records, this time hooking up with former Cock Robin guitarist Clive Wright. Together they have fashioned a peaceful musical excursion that explores the inner spaces of ambient bliss. As expected from someone considered to have helped found a genre, A Song For Lost Blossoms is not a typical ambient release by any means. These artists take a few chances by including a couple of live tracks, one even has some audience applause at the end, and a title track that includes a spoken word poetry reading recited by the author, Anna LaCazio. But these don’t take anything away from this CD being an excellently pleasing and ambient aural experience. In fact they serve as an attention grabber since the soothing soundscapes often compel the listener to drift through various levels of consciousness while still being aware of their surroundings. Like a musical daydream. The union of these two musicians is like a match made in heaven as Budd’s sublimely treated keyboard tones meld seamlessly with Wright’s heavily-reverbed, shimmering guitar washes. Their imaginations and compositional skills coalesce into waves of meditative, hypnotic and majestic harmonies, with serene and subtly shifting sonic textures that include vibrant tonal swells among a peaceful backdrop of sounds. The slumberous timbres ebb and flow in a delicate electronic soundscape while glissando guitar accents flutter overhead. In fact the appeal here lies in the way the tangible, Frippertronic-like passages and the surreal, soothing backgrounds are intertwined in such perfect balance that these tracks can be either actively listened to with attention at higher volumes or enjoyed at lower volumes while straddling the line between awake and asleep. But either way, A Song For Lost Blossoms shouldn’t be missed. Candylion contrasts previous work, A Song for Lost Blossoms, in that it is more thoughtful and structured. Still, it constantly surprises the listener with a fresh collage of aural landscapes and moods. Sometimes it evokes the feeling of a traditional Japanese piece, or the mood of a gentile, 60s, British film, or a Renaissance cathedral with cloisters reverberating a choral ensemble. Harold Budd and Clive Wright use new colors to paint Canylion's soundscapes: Harp, strings and even drums. If A Song for Lost Blossoms reminds listeners familiar with Harold Budd's previous works of his collaboration with Brian Eno, then Candylion may serve as a continuation of the spirit of Avalon Sutra; warm, glistening, meditative and alive. Art beautiful Art! Harold Budd is recognized as "The Godfather of Ambient Music". His works are the cornerstones of the modern minimal and ambient canon. Clive Wright is a founding member of the platinum selling pop/rock band Cock Robin and has worked as writer, producer and guitarist with Human Drama, Tears for Fears members, Montell Jordan, The Black Eyed Peas and Peter Gabriel.

Harold Budd & Clive Wright - Candylion

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Label: Darla
Catalog#: DRL221
Country: US
Released: May 26 May 2009
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Age, Ambient

Tracklist:

1. Sunday After the War (3:52)
2. Exit Plan (Perfume) (3:21)
3. On Ships That Sail Away (3:37)
4. Eaux d'Artifice (6:06)
5. Beautiful Intruder (5:01)
6. Candylion (5:42)
7. Ribbons Everywhere (3:35)
8. The Bells (5:25)
9. She Slipped Through the Door (5:13)
10. Mlle. Ice (4:29)
11. Orange Portal (3:38)
12. In the Midst of Life (2:15)

Harold Budd & Clive Wright - A Song For Lost Blossoms

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Label: Darla
Catalog#: DRL198
Country: US
Released: 07 Oct 2008
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Age, Ambient

Tracklist:

1 Pensive Aphrodite (32:15)
2 A Song For Lost Blossoms (4:39)
3 Forever Hold My Breath (9:51)
4 At This Moment (6:44)
5 Of Many Mirrors (4:22)
6 The Saint Of Whispers (9:45)
7 Blind Flowers (7:02)