"Not simple piano sketches, there is an attention to detail in the electronic manipulation of notes, in the warm trails of reverb and delay, in the quiet rattles and rhythms of the keys and strings, that exposes the album as a true labour of love."
To say that David August’s forays into the world of music have been expansive and explorative would be an understatement to say the least. But whether it’s caressing souls into a state of ecstasy during a Boiler Room set in Berlin or crafting 15 minute live excursions to the sound of Alfred Hitchcock’s soothing tones, releasing instant deep house classics for club use or conducting live shows of epic scale in the Barbican, a constant throughout his career has been his readiness to meld and morph musical elements from a hugely varied palette.
There’s a logic to this. August is classically trained and proficient on a wide range of instruments, so it follows that his electronic productions draw from every corner of his own sonic universe, which, as mentioned, is wide and rich with inspiration. On HYMNS, however, August strips everything back to the barest of bones. To be specific, the warm off-white ivories.
His fifth full length LP and his seventh release on his own 99CHANTS label, the album is born out of the enforced, extended periods of solitude we all experienced during the lockdown years. A self-confessed personal work, it sees August return to his classical roots over nine ‘hymns’ that centre around the countless hours of piano improvisations inspired by stillness, as well as a pervading sense of reflection, grief and healing.
Recorded on an upright piano that is both instrument and family heirloom, August, in a fashion typical of his meticulous approach to production, not only sought to record the notes as they were played but also experiments with microphones to pick up organic sounds of the piano between the notes, in its natural creaks, sighs and rattles as its played.
This comes across beautifully across the nine tracks. Not simple piano sketches, there is an attention to detail in the electronic manipulation of notes, in the warm trails of reverb and delay, in the quiet rattles and rhythms of the keys and strings, that exposes the album as a true labour of love.
HYMN I opens with delicate, individual notes dropping gently onto a bed of softly rushing feedback, a simple, contemplative opening that recalls the piano work of Jon Hopkins. HYMN II injects a little more movement into the arrangement, a little rhythm creeping into the dusty sampling, providing the blurred background for the crystalline tones of the piano, still very much front and centre of the arrangement.
Things become a little starker and a little colder on HYMN III, there is less of that warm wash in the periphery of the mix, leaving the space between notes feeling more dramatic and sparse. This, however, allows the subtle manipulation of the piano to shine through, as bursts of colour leave luminescent trails of delay in the pitch-black silence.
The fourth hymn is the most structured on the album, a hypnotic, plodding march of chords that again make use of that echo so effectively put to use on the preceding track, whilst HYMN V is a whimsical little sketch of high, intertwining notes that call and respond like songbirds in a fluttering, feather-light dance.
On HYMN VI a more tangible structure returns, as a steady, dampened rhythm that sounds almost born out of the gentle thud of a piano pedal sets the beat for more lush chords and a methodical, unrushed arrangement.
If the album was born out of lockdown and the cessation of social life, of a kind of ennui stemming from a lack of human contact, then HYMN VII seems to encapsulate this in its wearily uplifting tone, as if it’s trying to raise a smile but can’t quite find the energy, lapsing back into daydreams, a mind sadly waltzing through the halls of some dilapidated, sun and dust filled old manor.
HYMN VIII then follows with its almost ominous scales and tone, before the album comes to a close on HYMN IX. Here we return to a mood of stately grandeur, whilst retaining the slow, ponderous, unhurried tempo that defines the album. Once more, notes and chords are provided the space to slowly fade in hazy trails of reverb, the emotion carried by each note dying away in a constant cycle of rebirth, reflecting the cyclical themes one can’t help but ascribe to the album.
HYMNS is out now via 99CHANTS. Buy a vinyl copy from Inverted Audio Record Store.
TRACKLIST
1. HYMN I
2. HYMN II
3. HYMN III
4. HYMN IV
5. HYMN V
6. HYMN VI
7. HYMN VII
8. HYMN VIII
9. HYMN IX