tired, so very tired.

have run myself ragged over the last week and a half but able to go back to work soon for a bit of a rest.

the new issue of the zine is up. no podcast as yet as i've not had time but hopefully soon.

a new review of A Brief Sojourn arrived today from Evening Of Light - my thanks to Oscar.

In terms of quality releases, things have been running smoothly for Welsh drone/ambient label Quiet World. A recent example is A Brief Sojourn, a collaboration between Banks Bailey and Ian Holloway, delivering well over half an hour of finely blended drones and field recordings.

The sound on this album is most comparable to that on Summerland, where both men worked together with Darren Tate. A heavy dose of nature sounds like rain, birds, rustlings, are combined with subtle melodies, drones, and pulses, together forming a varied and atmospheric whole. The drones and weather sounds form an organic backdrop for a broad scala of unique ‘voices’.

The release isn’t very extreme at either end of the intensity spectrum; it maintains a stable level of layeredness and volume, without any strong eruptions of noise or silence. A perfect companion piece for a journey, a meditation or relaxation session, and the like. It’s a tad dark and ominous at times, so A Brief Sojourn will primarily be of interest to lovers of more obscure drone and ambient, but that goes for most of the Quiet World titles thus far. Compared to what went before, in any case, this one is certainly no disappointment.

chilling with tea and a book

on holiday for two weeks. can't afford to go anywhere exotic so staying put and disappearing off on jaunts. today though is all about watching old episodes of doctor who, reading a victorian era who-dunnit, walking into mumbles for a mooch around and then getting a late breakfast in my favourite greasy-spoon cafe before heading home to repeat the first two.

got a new review yesterday for A Brief Sojourn and very nice it is too. thanks michael.

On A Brief Sojourn, Quiet World head Ian Holloway (formerly Psychic Space Invasion) constructs wonderfully solemn ambient gloriousness out of synthesizers and Banks Bailey's crisp, bucolic field recordings. It's a stellar match – this isn't the first time the two have collaborated – as Holloway's gloriously low-key drones coalesce perfectly with the incidental recordings: a trickling creek, wind in the thickets, insect symphonies... All together, the disc has that uncanny ability to take you to (your own mental rendition of) the sound sources themselves, though imbued with an inner tranquility that meshes perfectly with the pastoral nature of the audio. Through the album's lone, substantial composition, several stretches of mood are encountered, including periods of uplifting lightness, vague menace, and dreary longingness. Certainly, one of Holloway's core talents is his ability to conjure up these feelings with such minimal sonic output – it's all about sound placement and the choice of tones. Design aside, however, what results from all this is a thirty-six minute passage of sound that is at once marvellously listenable, exquisite to rest to, and more than a little reminiscent of ambient work by Biosphere – especially with regards to the field recordings, which remind one of a less polar formulation of Geir Jenssen's atmospheric designs. A subtle treat. - Michael Tau,

A Brief Sojourn reviewed in Rumbles

Banks is most definitely not from South Wales - Arizona actually - but another nice review.

Ian Holloway & Banks Bailey are a couple of sonic explorers from South Wales, here presenting their album "A Brief Sojourn," which is a single thirty-six minute track taking electronics and natural sounds as a basis for work. The synthesizers drone and sway in stereo, while other sounds lurk deep in the mix. The natural sounds are subtle and don't take over; a deep and melancholy mood covers the piece. Very good indeed, and ideal for that 'last CD of the evening' moment.

there's still copies of the album available should anyone want one.

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Winter finally seems to be over and it's been a beautiful spring day here. It's still pretty cold but the sun is shining the birds are singing and the park is full of muticoloured wild flowers. Had a good walk through Clyne and fed the ducks which was something i hadn't done for a long long time.

I have some field recordings here that i'm going to upload to here some point soon so you may want to keep an eye out for them. for now though it's time for some tea.

an arrival

The new album is finally out. the (rather large) box of discs arrived on friday and I spent the weekend bagging up the first batch to be sent out. After visiting the post office earlier today i now know one thing for sure, that this label business is pretty expensive. Fun though.

The weather has finally turned here and Autumn is upon us with a vengeance. Went for a walk through the woods yesterday. The trees are shedding and the ground is thick with needles and leaves in various different shades of red. From the feel of the weather i don't think autumn is going to hang around too long though. winter is fast approaching and will be a long one. I'd noticed over the last couple of years that we are fast moving towards a state where we only really have two seasons per year - summer & winter. Spring and Autumn seem to be getting shorter with each passing year. it's a real shame, for many reasons but mostly, because they're my favourites.

i have a week off work so have gotten started with the next issue of WWR as the releases are still pretty well piled up after the summer's travails. Two new Andrew Chalk LPs turned up today though and that's always something to get excited about. They're as beautifully packaged as ever and i'm sick with envy (in a good way) at just how good he is at this music making (and sleeve making) lark.
My main ambition for this week though is to clear some shelf space so i'm going to be indulging in plenty of reading and also trying to get some books up on ebay to clear a bit of room here (and reimburse myself for the cost of making the new album).

peace to you all
ian

A short temporary visit

Sitting next to my right elbow as I type this is the sample copy of my new album, 'A Brief Sojourn', which arrived from the printers today. It's pretty nice.
unlike recent Quiet World releases this one won't be wrapped in a little poly sleeve but is housed in a half size dvd case. Not one of those slimline ones but one that is half as tall. They look very nice. I'd had a few sent to me via Wonderful Wooden Reasons over the last year so when Darren Tate mentioned that his printers had them in and he was using them for his new album I jumped at the chance to get some for this one.
All being well I should have the rest of them by friday (monday at the latest).

also, the latest issue of the zine is now online at www.wonderfulwoodenreasons.co.uk and at www.myspace.com/wonderfulwoodenreasons
there's over 20 albums featured and some of them are real gems.

btw - i have a facebook account if anyone'd like to add me and say hello.

peace
ian

views over the horizon

there're a couple of projects simmering here so i thought i'd give a heads up as to what's on it's way.

April will see my new solo album called 'She Loves To See The Sky'. It's a longform drone piece that i made at the same time as the Mote ep. it's more intense and minimal than that ep but features much of the same gear.

June or July will bring a new collaboration between myself and Banks Bailey called 'Sojourn'. at the end of '08 I was working on a new piece which just wouldn't sit right. I was on the verge of binning it when i realised that i had some unused recordings sent by Banks for the Holocene project. I gave them a try and they sat perfectly in the mix and really lifted the piece.

A long time coming but nearing completion is the DVD project 'Aurarora' that i've been working on with two friends, Rhod Thomas and Steve Jones. it's been a long project for the guys - i did my part over a year and a half ago - but it's mostly complete. Rhod has previously put images to two of my tracks. he's got a good eye for ambient imagery and Aurarora is looking very nice so far. below should be one of the older videos.



also before the end of the year there should be another album with Darren Tate. we've not got past the discussion stage at the moment but what has been finalised is that we will be working to a 'no electrically generated sounds' rule. This is something i've wanted to do for a while so i'm quite looking forward to it.

i'll probably add to the release list over the year but this is all that's finalised so far.

peace
ian