Steven R. Smith - Olive (VINYL LP Soft Abuse SAB 110) | NEW

Label: Soft Abuse – SAB 110
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition
Country: US
Released: Apr 19, 2024
Genre: Rock, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Experimental, Avantgarde

A1        Marshland Study
A2        The Magpie
A3        On The Trellis
A4        With Cypresses
A5        Passing Winter
B1        Across The Boulevard
B2        Olive
B3        Parlor Fields
B4        Trees At North Branch
B5        Roadmenders

Recorded At – Worstward Studios
Alto Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon – Derek Crane
Artwork – Dave Gardner (16)
Clarinet – Mateusz Pisulak (tracks: B5)
Field Recording – Kate Wright (tracks: A5)
French Horn – Filippo Tramontana
Guitar, Bass, Harmonium – Steven R. Smith
Lacquer Cut By – Saff*
Layout, Design – Chris Berry (7)
Mastered By – Sean McCann (4)
Organ [Vox Organ] – Yvonne Sone (tracks: B1)
Piano – Kate Wright
Piano [Piano Assistance] – Matt Jones (3)
Saxophone – Tomas Urnikis
Trombone – Lev Borovskiy
Trumpet – João Sousa (5)
Written-By [Woodwinds And Horns], Arranged By [Woodwinds And Horns] – Steven R. Smith
Edition of 300.

Recorded October 2022 - March 2023.
Worstward Studios, Los Angeles.
Additional recording: Glendale, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; Bristol, UK; Birmingham, UK; Pordenone, Italy; Porto, Portugal; and various locations in Poland and Lithuania.

Runouts are etched.
BARCODE 795154146031

Steven R. Smith is a wildly consistent and self-sufficient auteur making epic music far beyond his monk-like solo recording practices. On Olive, one gets more of Steven R. Smith's singular vision and musicianship, this time filtered through ensemble arrangement largely performed by others-an approach he's explored in recent years. A micro-orchestra of horn and woodwind players was enlisted, as well as other collaborators including Kate Wright (Movietone, 1000 Dawns) and Yvonne Sone. The stunning results call to mind Mark Hollis' eponymous solo LP and Gerald Busby's masterful 3 Women score, not only in terms of sonics or tone, but also in the use of space.

Smith has explored many angles to soundtrack-like mood music, but there is a satisfying dark rock element to even his more refined chamber pieces. Smith's dusky post-punk signature, borrowed from Australian artists such as Rowland S. Howard and Crime & the City Solution, synthesizes with the mannered arrangements to push his familiar, evocative sound into new spaces.

• Condition: NEW
• Format: Vinyl
• Internal ID: 795154146031N
• Genre: EXPERIMENTAL