Peter+hammill

Peter Hammill has been at it for almost 40 years now, and yet, since the early 2000s, he has been on a new way up, creatively speaking. Clutch (2002) and Incoherence (2004), his previous two studio albums, had both hit high artistic marks, but that is only one of the main reasons why Singularity was so highly anticipated by the fans. It was also the Thin Man's first studio album since remastering his '70s LPs for EMI, his first since the re-formation of his old group, Van der Graaf Generator. Yet, most importantly, especially for a man of words like he is, it was his first studio release since his heart attack two years earlier. Were all the expectations generated by these "firsts" met? Surprisingly, yes. Singularity stands among Hammill's best albums of the past 25 years.

For the first time ever, Peter has recorded a collection of cover versions. The songs come from a variety of musical worlds: Classical, American Songbook, Italian Pop and Tango. In all but three cases Peter has also translated the songs, from Italian, French and German. As strange a project as this might seem, there’s an overall sense of cohesiveness to it and it’s absolutely of this time. Two songs have lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein; the music for one is by Jerome Kern, the other by Richard Rodgers. Leiber and Stoller provided lyrics for “I who have nothing’, originally an Italian tune. Three Italian songs are at the core of the album, written (and originally performed) by Fabrizio de Andre, Luigi Tenco and Piero Ciampi. The two tango pieces were composed by Astor Piazzolla. Finally, there are two classical songs, respectively by Faure and Mahler.

Isuldurs Bane have a long history of making exciting and interesting music, pushing boundaries, taking risks and expanding the always varied musical palette with their unique brand of chamber rock. The ensemble has always been a collective of very talented musicians, led by Mats Johansson, that have collaborated with guest musicians. For this release Mats Johansson was keen to see if another vocalist he respected would like to work with them; enter the musical icon and legend Peter Hammill, Van der Graaf Generator vocalist and acclaimed solo artist – this certainly is a collaboration to get very excited about. The seeds of this idea were sown after Peter had been a guest at the band’s annual IB EXPO in 2017, Mats found working with Peter very special and wondered if they could create some new music together.

Security (IV) – which was titled Peter Gabriel everywhere outside of the U.S. – continues where the third Gabriel album left off, sharing some of the same dense production and sense of cohesion, yet lightening the atmosphere and expanding the sonic palette somewhat. The gloom that permeates the third album has been alleviated and while this is still decidedly somber and serious music, it has a brighter feel, partially derived from Gabriel's dabbling in African and Latin rhythms. These are generally used as tonal coloring, enhancing the synthesizers that form the basic musical bed of the record, since much of this is mood music (for want of a better word).

At times albums are born out of an explosion of creativity. At other times they are a sort of musical distillation of ingredients, carefully selected and combined to create a tasteful and sensitive sonorous balance. Ones and Zeros is a successful mixture of musical colours. A project that has evolved over years, lending itself to the contributions of musicians of very different musical and cultural backgrounds, each one leaving their own very personal touch on the project. Ones and Zeros is the second solo album of Saro Cosentino. Already active on the electronic and musical fronts, with Ones and Zeros, Saro has widened his musical boundaries to encompass a fuller and more organic conception.