THE RACHELS: The Sea and The Bells
LP (Quarterstick)
The sound of The Rachel's is one of the most original sounds in music-land nowadays. They're music is a mix of several genres as jazz, invoking film noir soundtracks, chambergroup classicism, foundsound snippets, .....
There new CD/LP, is a sort of a concept album about the title self said 'The Sea And The Bells'. All songs, or compositions, were inspired by this theme. Instruments as Bells, Timpani, Drum, Piano, Contrabass, Cello, Violin, Bass, Guitar, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Trumpet, .... were used for making sounds as birds, the weaves, wind, the night, storm,.... It's like a journey for Mercator's trip around the world.
Sometimes is the sound of Rachel very minimalistic, but sometimes there is very much sound, Bells, Violins, Cello, Contrabass, sometimes you get the idea if there plays a hole symphonic orchestra with them, but it never sounds 'to much'. It's just great.
The inlay of the CD/LP counts 56 pages full of poetry, also about the sea of course. It are beautiful poems with many adjectives and beautiful (and sometimes strange) images.
Also the sea inspires the inlay, hand-written texts that were flow away by the water (I can't describe). Photos of the sea in a strange light and all in the strange dark atmosphere.
You can't describe 'The Sea And The Bells' with words.
RACHEL'S: Selenography
2*LP Quarterstick 1999
Their previous 'The sea & The bells was a real revelation. With an instrumentarium that couldn't be called hip (violins, cello's, piano, etc), they created a sound that really surprised me. Surprising, power but also the silence where pith words of a concept-disc which was completely built around the sea (the lost of a ship in a storm). On the new one is the theme, like title says it, the study of the moon.
Surprising isn't really the mean team of the new CD. Long songs, which never really explodes, the sea stays calm, never storm just some dark Skye's now & than. Not that this is a bad CD, and as concept album maybe successful I'm a bit disappointed in the tension of the album, but the Rachel-sound stays unique. I had, I think, just to big expectations.KW
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