Conceived and composed in Almada, Portugal, in the makeshift studio space he shares with Casper Clausen of Efterklang, Harp Swells is both meditative and deliberately, consciously light. Where Samson’s previous work has been steered by melancholy – by a desire to heal himself through his music – here he strives for brightness; an antidote to the frustrations that had swelled within him over the past few years.
Will views his new work as an ‘anti-algorithm’ record. Consisting of six movements, and fundamentally shaped by his use of a UHER 4200, a 1970’s era portable tape recorder that intricately ties the whole album together, Harp Swells is designed to be consumed in one sitting, front to back. While he’s aware that this will could work against him in many ways, for the first time Will is releasing his latest album free of inhibitions and, perhaps most importantly, any expectations.
Carrying that outlook through the entire project, Will made a pledge to himself that any time he began to feel frustrated with the creative process, he would step away from the music to watch the river outside his studio windows, to remind himself that the album should feel as easy and free flowing as the water.
If ideas weren’t flowing, if instruments failed, Will would simply take a break and a breath, always allowing the environment and circumstance to dictate the album’s character and flow. When the noise of the construction work happening below him got too loud, he would record the same melody on rhodes piano instead. When his violinist wasn’t available, he sampled a bamboo flute he found in the studio to create something that resembled a string arrangement. The result is a sprawling, mesmerising body of sound, a richly organic reflection on the world around him and the roots he‘d finally put in place. Inspired by the concept of Indian devotional music, with a focus on the art of healing, Harp Swells glistens with quiet power, wrapping listeners within its illusory flow as it gently pours forwards. It’s also a reaction to a shifting world, and an ode to the inner strength required to keep moving forwards as the walls of the real world continually feel like they’re closing in.
From the ghostly fascination of the exquisite seven-minute opening track ‘Beatrijs’ Theremin’, through the tantalising three minutes of ‘And Yet’ (featuring the vocals of Bell Orchestre’s Michael Feuerstack and Irish performance artist Maia Nunes), which opens with layered hymn-like vocal samples before they’re slowly joined by beautiful strings which adorn the voices with a palpable sense of wonder, this is an album of both enchantment and transience. Pulled together from all manner of inspired instruments and ideas, it offers a gorgeously glowing flow for the listeners to climb inside; a truly alluring escape from the world.
In truly allowing all the superfluous noise to dissipate, on Harp Swells Will Samson has crafted perhaps the most absorbing work of his career, one which never allowed itself to be obstructed or curtailed by the many barriers it faced from the outset. Free from conjecture and supposition, it’s a stirring document of what it means to truly let go.
credits
released September 8, 2023
Published by Manners McDade
Produced by Will Samson
Mixed & Mastered by Taylor Deupree
Violin by Beatrijs De Klerck
Additional Vocals by Beatrijs De Klerck, Maia Nunes & Michael Feuerstack
A wonderful balance between harmonies and noise. Date, Fuller and Yamamoto know what they are doing when they move fluidly between these acoustic worlds! Electronics and acoustic instruments blend together masterfully to create a sound world all of their own, perhaps "ambient" or perhaps not, but it really doesn't matter. Congratulations, a wonderful record! longmo
What a gorgeous album. I can tell from first listen that I’ll be returning to this regularly, like drawing from a well, for years to come. It’s really something new and different from 12k as well as all the individual artists involved. They come together with such humility and sensitivity of listening to build together these beautiful, involving and rich sound landscapes over the 9 tracks. clearing2
Available commercially for the first time since its initial 1991 release, Spiegel’s fantastic “intelligent instrument” album testifies to the power of an artist who pushed the boundaries of electronic music to unexplored territory. Bandcamp Album of the Day Jan 11, 2019
This album is one of the most mesmerizing albums that i have heard in a long time.
Zimoun delicately spin web after intricate web of guitar drones and layer them upon and into each other so that while listening your focus and concentration linger astray in the most wonderful way possible.
This is nothing short of a sonic masterpiece and a must have release. Finn of Tomland