The Silverman "Requiem Settings" Soleilmoon Recordings SOL 119 CD 2002 (45:47)
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The Silverman is keyboardist Phil Knight, a founding and current member of The Legendary Pink Dots. This is his third solo album following up on 1995's "Dream Cell" for Terminal Kaleidoscope and 1998's "Silvermandalas", also for Soleilmoon. Like the latter, this disc is simply comprised of numbered parts, in this case six interconnected tracks ranging from two to nearly 13 minutes in length. The title is perfect as the album was motivated by the death of his father and the places Knight lived and visited while working upon it. Each setting is unique and incorporates found as well as synthesized sounds. Part one features ghostly metallic bell tones amidst a dense, shifting fog. Two moves into a more electronic territory as a sequence of synth notes, waves and background bass bumps plays out. Three glistens as a dulcimer and subdued electronics dance with an elegant array of winter sounds such as crumpled snow, cracked ice and water. It's really something how it gracefully slips in and out of consciousness. Four and five are brief interludes of mechanical whirrings, swooping tones, more bells, rain (or maybe fire) and birdsong. And six is the requiem itself. Steady synth voices become masked by wind and the sounds of trains, evoking cross country movement as well as sorrow. Much like David Tibet's homage to his departed father, Current 93's "Sleep Has His House", The Silverman has respectfully paid tribute to his own father with a very lovely album, his best yet ...
Where did I get this CD? - Twist and Shout (Denver, CO)