Coastal The Field Mice

Fifteen years before Chopin wrote his first “nocturne”, Irish pianist/composer John Field composed his Nocturne No. 1 in E-flat major, followed by at least 15 more pieces in the same style. In these short works for solo piano, Field–who was one of the most celebrated pianists in the world during the first quarter of the 19th century–put form to the idea of a contemplative, lyrical composition, specifically tailored to the piano’s expressive capabilities. These “night” pieces are primarily characterized by a dominant, gracefully flowing melody, with most of the harmonic activity in the pianist’s left hand. Although other pianists have recorded at least some of Field’s Nocturnes–most notably John O’Conor (Telarc) and Miceál O’Rourke (Chandos)–Benjamin Frith’s own uniquely inflected, poetic readings have a satisfying aura of intimacy cast in the warm colors of his well-tempered, expertly recorded piano. Although O’Conor’s playing is more lyrical, with more fluid legatos, Frith generally takes more time–and these invariably lovely pieces blossom just as fully and brilliantly.

In the autumn of 1984 Anthony Phillips (ex-Genesis) was commissioned by music publishers De Wolfe to write and record an album of library music for use on TV and Film. In marked contrast to the solo 12-string pieces he was working on at the same time for Twelve, the library project had a number of requirements in the initial brief, one of the key ones being the use of then-contemporary electronic drum and synthesiser sounds.
Anthony composed a number of tracks for the project and scored a selection of them which were then recorded by some top session musicians (credited on the original album sleeve under the name 'X-Cess') in De Wolfe's London studio in the spring of 1985…

Spleen Arcana is born from the ashes of past musical projects led by Julien Gaullier, a self taught multi-instrumentalist from France who composes music at home since 1994. Inspired by vintage progressive rock and musical heroes like Marillion, Anathema, Radiohead or Mike Oldfield, Julien decides to release a first album on his own, playing any instruments he could get his hands on and starting to record every note he wrote with the equipment he found around him. Helped later by David Perron on the drums and Marie Guillaumet for additionnal vocals. Years passed, songs evolved, sound changed, some equipment even broke. The result of this chaotic musical adventure, called The Field Where She Died, is a raw but sincere first album coming from a long passionate process.