TO:70 - Hildur Gudnadottir "Without Sinking"
Touch # TO:70
10 tracks - 47.8 Minutes
CD in Digipak
Artwork and photography: Jon Wozencroft
Track Listing
1. Elevation
2. Overcast
3. Erupting Light
4. Circular
5. Ascent
6. Opaque
7. Aether
8. Whiten
9. Into Warmer Air
10. Unveiled
Composed and recorded by Hildur Ingveldardóttir Gudnadóttir in Berlin and Reykjavík. Hildur played cello, zither, processors and voice.
Additional recordings by Skúli Sverrisson; bass and processors on all tracks except track 7, Jóhann Jóhannsson; organs and processors on tracks 2, 3 and 9 and Gudni Franzson; clarinet and bass clarinet on tracks 7 and 10.
Cello no. 49 was made by David Wiebe in 1991.
This is Hildur Ingveldardóttir Gudnadóttir's second solo album and her first for Touch. ['Mount A' was released on the Icelandic label '12 Tónar' in 2006.] Hildur flew so much during 2007 and 2008 that she spent alot of time staring at clouds through the airplane window, considering their appearance and formation... She says: "My aim with this record was to create a feeling of breath with a bow on string. I wanted to create a sky and cloud-like feeling in the compositions. I wanted to have open space for single notes and let them breath, like single clouds in a clear sky. As a contrast I also wanted create denser and heavier compositions which were more thundercloud like. I like the way clouds form, how many tiny droplets can form such dense forms and then slowly evaporate into thin string-like ones."
'Mount A' was an intensely solo work, composed and recorded in winter darkness, a solitary, rural affair. 'Without Sinking' was recorded in Berlin, mostly during the summer of 2008; also Hildur has collaborated with Icelandic musicians Jóhann Jóhannsson [two of his albums were released on Touch, 'Englaborn' in 2002 and 'Virthulega Forsetar' in 2004], and bassist Skúli Sverrisson. Her father, Gudni Franzson, also guests playing clarinet on two tracks here. This collaborative process is reflected in a much more open sound; there is more space and you can hear the air. Mixed by Valgeir Sigurdsson and Hildur at Greenhouse Studios Iceland, and mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye, 'Without Sinking' is a luxurious, riveting and involving piece of work.
» Read an interview with Hildur at www.icelandmusic.is
» See Hildur perform with BJNilsen live in London, 16th May 2009, as part of Touch Presents... at The Roundhouse - details below.
» You may download a free mp3 of Erupting Light by clicking here.
Buy Without Sinking in the TouchShop
www.hildurness.com
Biography
Hildur Ingveldardóttir Gudnadóttir (b. 1982) is a cellist and composer. Best known for her collaborations with múm and guest appearances with Pan Sonic, she has a rich catalogue of collaborations and varied projects behind her.
Gudnadóttir began playing cello as a child, entered the Reykjavík Music Academy and then moved on to musical studies/composition and new media at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and Universitat der Kunste in Berlin. Back in Iceland, she became very active in the neu-Iceland scene as a member of Kitchen Motors, a Reykjavík based think tank, record label and an art collective along with internationally renowned composer Jóhann Jóhannsson.
In 2004, she started playing with the band Angel (Ilpo Väisänen and Dirk Dresslehaus). Around that time she made an album with Dirk (Mr. Schmuck´s farm), and went on to play live Pan Sonic, later collaborating on their album Cathodephase.
She released her first solo album, Mount A, under the artist name Lost in the Hildurness, on the Reykjavík based label 12 Tónar in 2006. The album was recorded in New York City, and at ‘Hólar in Hjaltadalur’, a historic spot in Iceland with a house named Audunarstofa. The old house is constructed from Norwegian wood and was chosen for its excellent cello acoustics. Gudnadóttir played all the instruments on the album – vibraphone, viola da gamba, harp and vocals.
Gudnadóttir is a member of Storsveit Nix Noltes (The Nix Noltes Big Band), a rotating cast of 7 to 10 Icelanders playing traditional Bulgarian and Greek dance music. The group has toured the US twice supporting Animal Collective.
She has also played frequently with field recording artist and performer BJ Nilsen; delicate duets that conjure somber rapture of multi tracked cello - Gudnadóttir’s live playing augmented by laptop loops. Gudnadóttir has collaborated, played and recorded with other artists such as Skuli Sverrisson, Hilmar Jensson, Hafler trio, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nico Muhly, Valgeir Sigurdsson, Angel, SchneiderTM, Ben Frost and Stilluppsteypa.
As a composer she has written music for plays, dance performances and films, pieces for chamber orchestras, various instruments, voices and electronics. Gudnadóttir likes to explore the nature and movement of sound, and often turns her experiments into sound and visual installations. She recently co-composed a live soundtrack to Derek Jarman's 1980 film In The Shadow of The Sun with legends Throbbing Gristle, arranged choir for performances by them in Austria and London.
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