Despite its earthy origins, music that absorbs the night sky and all who may travel it.
In Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds, 17th-century philosopher Fontenelle and his friend the Marquise contemplate the possibility of extraterrestrial life while on a moonlit stroll through her gardens. “What if they were skillful enough to navigate on the outer surface of our air, and from there, through their curiosity to see us, they angled for us like fish? Would that please you?” he asks. “Why not?” she answers. “As for me, I’d put myself into their nets of my own volition just to have the pleasure of seeing those who caught me.”
Strange Pilgrims they would be. And Ian Holloway’s treatment of his and Banks Bailey’s field recordings makes the perfect soundtrack for considering such an ethereal fishing expedition. Bailey has recorded the woody thrum of the hermit thrush in Arizona, which Holloway has left alone and altered in turns, twinning it, a percussive judder and an Oriental flute. His own mellow drones rise like will-o’-the-wisps and fresh waters flow. Despite its earthy origins, music that absorbs the night sky and all who may travel it.
Strange Pilgrims is available on Quiet World.
