about
‘Quiet Sufficient’ was one of my very favourite releases of 2017. Many moons ago, I had the pleasure of participating briefly in the teacher/student relationship individually with all three of these deeply considered musicians. Hearing the way they had blossomed and bloomed on ‘Quiet Sufficient’ was a deeply rewarding experience. The CD stayed in my car for months. The sound and attention to detail on this new record is in the same realm as their debut: delicate, ethereal and intimate.
And then there are beautiful surprises such as when the... Well, I don’t want to ruin it for you. This is music that deserves deep, uninterrupted listening. The music has been described elsewhere as cinematic, and it feels orchestral in both its dynamic and scope. At times it’s easy to forget that you’ve dived in to a world created by just three musicians. The fact that, of those three, only one is a traditional “rhythm section” instrument is at times quite profound.
The tone that the horn players produce on all their instruments is rich and warm without sacrificing directness and immediacy. No mean feat. The intonation and balance is superb throughout. The way the steel string guitar is recorded feels like you’re inside the body of the actual instrument; the nylon string is rich and never brittle. And the voicings (both of the guitar itself and the woodwinds together) are full of unusual surprises, especially on the title track. Melville’s compositions are beguiling, but it’s the way they’re realised by the whole group that makes this recording so special. There’s plenty of intrigue, but always room to breathe. It all feels like a very warm invitation to step inside, take the worries of the world off your shoulders, and let it all wash over you like a warm bath.
These are smart but enchanting compositions, realised and played immaculate, and captured and produced with pristine detail and sound staging. I get the feeling that this will be one of those recordings that offers a deeper and more immersive experience on each successive listen. - Julien Wilson
credits
released March 13, 2020
GIDEON BRAZIL TENOR SAXOPHONE, BARITONE SAXOPHONE
MONTY MACKENZIE ALTO SAXOPHONE
ROBBIE MELVILLE GUITAR
All songs composed by Robbie Melville except ‘Heyr Himna Smiður’ by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson.
All songs lovingly arranged by Antelodic with wine, beer, whisky, tuning issues, amplification experiments, flippant piano playing, weariness, sadness, joy, attention to detail, mistakes, discovery and conversations about reeds.
Recorded at ABC Studio 345 by Mal Stanley, October and November, 2018. Mixed and mastered by Mal Stanley. Produced by Antelodic. Photography by Magnús Ólafsson. Front cover courtesy of the Reykjavík Museum Of Photography. All others courtesy of the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
Thank you – Julie Suter, Lynette Gillman, Erika Wells, Mal Stanley, Hugh Robertson, Jim Matheas, George Rozakis, Adam Simmons, Paul Simmons, Wendy Morrison, Tracy Routledge, Ronny Ferella, Sean Healy, Julien Wilson, Katja Matters.
In the UK - Karina Jermalovičs, Christopher Graham, Christo Squier.
In Iceland - Kristín Hauksdóttir.
In the US - Peter Corina.