Genre: Ambient / Experimental
Nick Grey impressed the music community with his debut album Nick Grey and the Random Orchestra – Regal Daylight that was re-released by Sateart records in early 2005. Nick Grey demonstrated his ability to create new musical contexts in which to pour his unique song writing with the successful debut album Regal Daylight. Music lovers who invested in a copy of Regal Daylight were retreated to rich compositions filled with varied instrumentation and progressive compositions. The eclectic songs of Regal Daylight manifested diverse song structures that incorporated elements of pop, neoclassical, and experimental music. This ability to approach music and songwriting from a new and fresh perspective has earned Nick Grey a well-deserved reputation.
Nick Grey has now returned with a new limited edition series titled Unclear Perspectives. Unclear Perspectives is an ongoing CD series of which each volume is presented in individually numbered self-produced hand made packaging by the artists. Each album in this limited edition series is themed around an individual instrument. For the first installment of the series titled “Les Eaux Territoriales” Nick Grey works in tandem with accomplished English guitarist Nicholas Davis. Nick Grey and Nicholas Davis have chosen the guitar as the instrumental focus for this first installment and have produced three lengthy songs comprising over 23 minutes of music.
“Les Eaux Territoriales” begins with the title track “Les Eaux Territoriales.” “Les Eaux Territoriales” begins with gentle whispering and the howling wind accompanied by strummed strings and a distant rattle. The lyrics are in French and escaped my translation but the music communicates a dreamy atmosphere that beckons the listener to follow along. The music sounds as if it could be paired with a dream sequence from a film. After about forty-five seconds, the music retreats and surrenders to the much lengthier second track on “Les Eaux Territoriales” titled “Deathships of All Flags Gather Around Yr. Shore.”
“Deathships of All Flags Gather Around Yr. Shore” launches with layered electric and bass guitar playing. The various guitars that comprise the track are densely layered upon one another creating a pulsing flow of music that completely bathes the listener in hypnotic sound waves. The shimmering guitars mutate and evolve as piano and drums join them in a thickening vortex of sound. The effect is one of drifting through a dream as you are gently pulled and tugged through the music. A rattle enters the song along side Nick’s very mellow vocals and some string instrumentation. The stringed instrumentation sounds like a Cello and lends a particular sadness to the composition. The Cello also offers the listener a point of reference in this otherwise formless and elusive experience. The music shifts at unexpected junctions deepening the sound and emotion of the music as each shift pulls the listener suddenly closer into more intimate listening. Nick’s vocals personalize the music adding yet another emotional focal point as his voice modestly communicates vulnerability. Near the end, the song progresses seamlessly into terrain that is more psychedelic. By the end of this nearly fourteen minutes long odyssey you finally catch your breathe as your feet return to the earth.
The third and final track in this shimmering calypso journey is titled “Milk and Moon.” “Milk and Moon” begins with ambient electronics before embracing layered guitar waves once again. Like its predecessor, “Milk and Moon” builds with numerous layers of sound and instrumentation building upon one another until a dense tapestry of sound has been woven. Once the shimmering wall of mutating sound is achieved, various sounds and instrumentation are once more brought to bear upon the whole. Once again, the listener is enveloped in a foggy domain of shimmering music where layered guitar hosts an array of instrumentation ranging from electronic ambience to accordion. The music bathes the listener like silver moonlight on a cold, crisp, clear night. The music invokes a sense of isolation akin to walking the night alone or staying awake to catch the sun rise. The music is ambient and flowing yet contemplative in a non-obtrusive manner. Like swimming naked underwater in an isolated alpine lake, the music forms a protective layer around the listener that invites a relaxing of ones reflexes and abandonment to the elusive ballad.
Nick Grey has proven his worth as a musician and songwriter once again by delivering an amazing engaging and absorbing listening experience with “Les Eaux Territoriales” the first installment of the Clear Perspectives series. It has been a true delight to hear the guitar transformed into a non-linear instrument capable of seducing the listener into deep waters. Nick Grey and Nicholas Davis have proven the guitar capable of exceeding its traditional role and have expertly used this instrument as a foundation upon which to construct lucid songs filled with dreamy soundscapes and atmospheres. “Les Eaux Territoriales” is a hypnotic and mesmerizing listening experience and it leaves me yearning for the next installment!
