Emma Gatrill Cocoon

CAT No. FLAU64
Release Date: March 15th, 2017
Format: LP/CD/Digital

英ブライトン出身のハープ奏者、マルチインストゥルメンタリストEmma Gatrillのニューアルバム。ほぼハープの弾き語りのみで製作されたファーストアルバムからBroken Social Scene、Laura Marlingらのツアーの経験を得て製作された本作では、アナログ・シンセやドラムマシーン、ギター、エレクトロニクスなど生楽器問わず新たなサウンドをふんだんに取り入れ、大きくスケールアップしたオーケストレーション・ポップを披露。同じハープ奏者のJoanna Newsomはもちろん、盟友Rachael DaddやRozi Planeらとも比較される柔らかなボーカルとクラシックなソングライティングに、多数のゲストアーティストの参加やマルチ奏者の面目躍如といった様々な楽器演奏と音楽的実験が繰り広げられています。より磨きのかかった楽曲は叙情に溢れ、バイオリンとギター、クラリネットがドラマチックに絡み合う「You」、ギリシャ神話を激しい弦と雷のドラムを背景に探検する「Philomela」、室内ポップオーケストレーションによって気候変動を描いた「Robin」など、粒立った楽曲揃いのアルバムでは損失と孤立、希望、そして共感といった普遍的な懸念が描かれます。ミックスはLaura Marling、Thurston Moore、Florence and the Machineなどの作品を手がけたDan Cox。「Cocoon」にはJuana Molinaの愉快な実験、Julia Holterの知的なポップ、「Vespatine」期のBjorkのようなテクスチャ豊かなアレンジメントがあります。

Emma Gatrill is a multi-instrumentalist based in Brighton, UK. Her debut, 2012’s Chapter I, was a poignant collection of songs based around her then-latest acquisition – the harp. Subtly accompanied by various members of Brighton’s Willkommen Collective, her intricate harp playing coupled with a unique vocal fragility drew comparisons to Björk and Joni Mitchell as well as her friends and co-conspirators Rachael Dadd and Rozi Plain. By the time the album came out, she’d already played clarinet in Laura Marling’s band on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage, made up part of Broken Social Scene’s horn section on a run of UK dates and toured all over Europe as part of Sons Of Noel And Adrian. Since then she’s been touring and collaborating with kindred spirit Kristin McClement and as a member of Matthew & The Atlas. In amongst it all, Gatrill somehow found time to develop her own live show beyond the simplicity of Chapter I; augmenting her harp and vocal with ambient analogue synths and drum machines using foot controllers, as well as introducing accompanying guitar atmospherics from label-mate Marcus Hamblett. Five years and hundreds of live shows with dozens of different bands later, her larger-scale live ambitions fed back into the writing and recording process for Gatrill’s forthcoming second album, Cocoon. The album showcases a huge leap forward in scope and imagination. The harp, tender vocal and unique take on classic songwriting are still at the core of Gatrill’s sound, but the arrangements draw from a much wider and often darker sonic palette – from orchestral strings to monosynths, drum machines to tap shoes and Casio keyboards to vibraphones. Gatrill’s circle of influences has widened too – on Cocoon Emma draws from the joyful experimentation of Juana Molina and the intelligent pop and texturally rich arrangements of Julia Holter and My Brightest Diamond. While the songs are more honed and focused, the lyrical content is broader. Philomela explores Greek mythology to the backdrop of tumultuous strings and thunderous drums and Robin tackles climate change set to chamber pop orchestration; while universal concerns of loss, isolation, hope and togetherness tie the album together. The album was mixed by Dan Cox whose work for the likes of Laura Marling, Thurston Moore and Florence and the Machine lead to him being named Breakthrough Engineer Of The Year at the Music Producer’s Guild awards.

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Track List

01 Skin

02 Robin

03 Wild Waters

04 Odd Ones Out

05 Space

06 Cocoon 07 You

08 Philomela

09 Eliza Harora

10 Cast Out

Press Quotes

between the Julia Holter aurora and the Sufjan Stevens supernova…she quivers in a Björk-like cadenceStereogum

a record of exquisitely crafted beauty…beautiful slab of skewed folk-pop brilliancesThe Line Of Best Fit

beautiful musicLucy Rose

wonderful sparsity – folk-hewn idiosyncrasiesClash

There’s been a marked leap forward in terms of the quality of songwriting too, with more developed and nuanced melodiesRecord Collector

indicative of her delicate compassion and powerful emotionGold Flake Paint

feels like being wrapped up in a warm series of comforters in the quaint & quiet chambers of one’s own roomImpose Magazine

delicate folk-pop piece which mix harp chords and a dreamy vocalSon Of Marketing

beautifully hazed slice of woodland enchantmentThe Sunday Experience

risultante dall’intreccio di una serie di filigrane esili, preziose, incantatMusic Won’ts Save You (Album Of The Week)

柔らかな歌声で綴られる孤独や希望、他者との共存といった普遍的なテーマの描写力たるや…ポストジョアンナ・ニューサムと喩えるには早計で勿体ない存在Mikiki/Bounce

Emma Gatrill Cocoon

CAT No. FLAU64
Release Date: March 15th, 2017
Format: LP/CD/Digital

Track List

01 Skin

02 Robin

03 Wild Waters

04 Odd Ones Out

05 Space

06 Cocoon 07 You

08 Philomela

09 Eliza Harora

10 Cast Out

英ブライトン出身のハープ奏者、マルチインストゥルメンタリストEmma Gatrillのニューアルバム。ほぼハープの弾き語りのみで製作されたファーストアルバムからBroken Social Scene、Laura Marlingらのツアーの経験を得て製作された本作では、アナログ・シンセやドラムマシーン、ギター、エレクトロニクスなど生楽器問わず新たなサウンドをふんだんに取り入れ、大きくスケールアップしたオーケストレーション・ポップを披露。同じハープ奏者のJoanna Newsomはもちろん、盟友Rachael DaddやRozi Planeらとも比較される柔らかなボーカルとクラシックなソングライティングに、多数のゲストアーティストの参加やマルチ奏者の面目躍如といった様々な楽器演奏と音楽的実験が繰り広げられています。より磨きのかかった楽曲は叙情に溢れ、バイオリンとギター、クラリネットがドラマチックに絡み合う「You」、ギリシャ神話を激しい弦と雷のドラムを背景に探検する「Philomela」、室内ポップオーケストレーションによって気候変動を描いた「Robin」など、粒立った楽曲揃いのアルバムでは損失と孤立、希望、そして共感といった普遍的な懸念が描かれます。ミックスはLaura Marling、Thurston Moore、Florence and the Machineなどの作品を手がけたDan Cox。「Cocoon」にはJuana Molinaの愉快な実験、Julia Holterの知的なポップ、「Vespatine」期のBjorkのようなテクスチャ豊かなアレンジメントがあります。

Emma Gatrill is a multi-instrumentalist based in Brighton, UK. Her debut, 2012’s Chapter I, was a poignant collection of songs based around her then-latest acquisition – the harp. Subtly accompanied by various members of Brighton’s Willkommen Collective, her intricate harp playing coupled with a unique vocal fragility drew comparisons to Björk and Joni Mitchell as well as her friends and co-conspirators Rachael Dadd and Rozi Plain. By the time the album came out, she’d already played clarinet in Laura Marling’s band on Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage, made up part of Broken Social Scene’s horn section on a run of UK dates and toured all over Europe as part of Sons Of Noel And Adrian. Since then she’s been touring and collaborating with kindred spirit Kristin McClement and as a member of Matthew & The Atlas. In amongst it all, Gatrill somehow found time to develop her own live show beyond the simplicity of Chapter I; augmenting her harp and vocal with ambient analogue synths and drum machines using foot controllers, as well as introducing accompanying guitar atmospherics from label-mate Marcus Hamblett. Five years and hundreds of live shows with dozens of different bands later, her larger-scale live ambitions fed back into the writing and recording process for Gatrill’s forthcoming second album, Cocoon. The album showcases a huge leap forward in scope and imagination. The harp, tender vocal and unique take on classic songwriting are still at the core of Gatrill’s sound, but the arrangements draw from a much wider and often darker sonic palette – from orchestral strings to monosynths, drum machines to tap shoes and Casio keyboards to vibraphones. Gatrill’s circle of influences has widened too – on Cocoon Emma draws from the joyful experimentation of Juana Molina and the intelligent pop and texturally rich arrangements of Julia Holter and My Brightest Diamond. While the songs are more honed and focused, the lyrical content is broader. Philomela explores Greek mythology to the backdrop of tumultuous strings and thunderous drums and Robin tackles climate change set to chamber pop orchestration; while universal concerns of loss, isolation, hope and togetherness tie the album together. The album was mixed by Dan Cox whose work for the likes of Laura Marling, Thurston Moore and Florence and the Machine lead to him being named Breakthrough Engineer Of The Year at the Music Producer’s Guild awards.

KEEP READING