The Type label continues to surprise with the release of Corduroy Road, which sees Keith Kenniff under his Goldmund alias almost abandoning electronic content in favor of pure performance. Corduroy Road is, at its simplest, a collection of 13 straighti piano solo recordings. At key moments throughout the album, the piano is joined by the additional voice of an acoustic guitar, whilst even more rarely these instruments are accented, almost imperceptibly, by distant electronic sighs. Nothing, not even these amazingly subtle and natural electronic motifs, appears artificial in Goldmund’s compositions: guitar fretwork; the felt of hammers hitting strings; the pressing of pedals; every note played can almost be felt as well as heard, as if Kenniff were performing in the room with you.
Yet Corduroy Road‘s apparent simplicity extends no further than its minimal timbral palette, it’s emotional, narrative, cultural and nostalgic landscapes every bit as layered and complex as the rich, evocative atmospheres of Unomia, Kenniff’s debut album as Helios on the Merck label.
Signposted by a rendition of “Marching Through Georgia,” the rich backdrop that informs the content of Corduroy Road is influenced by American Civil War era folk music, as can be unmistakably heard on tracks like “Larrows Of The Field.” But at the same time it conjures an impressive variety of moods, emotions and styles: the innocent, Chopsticks-style clonking of album-opener “Ba,” where every note (including one that is just slightly detuned) can be heard hitting the piano strings; the intriguing familiarity of “Door Of Our Home;” the tremulous unease of “Downward To Darkness On Extended Wings;” the minimal, plaintive repeating note of “My Neighbourhood” which slowly blossoms into a warm, nostalgic duet of piano and guitar; the solitary, contemplative melancholy of “25 Thousand Miles;” the solemn finality of “Anomolie Loop (1960 – 1969).” Only a composer who really loves and understands his instruments could elicit such expressive work from such pared-down sources, and by truly emoting through them Kenniff exposes every subtle nuance of piano, of guitar and of himself.
Profound without pretension, touching but not sentimental, deeply personal yet accessible, minimal, frank and refined, Corduroy Road is a rich, cinematic experience from a truly accomplished artist that commands your uninterrupted attention.
Corduroy Road is out now on Type Records.
