Next week, cellist Oliver Coates releases his debut album Towards the blessed islands, out on December 9 as the first release on new label PRAH Recordings (get hold of it physically and digitally), a set of his interpretations of 20th-Century and contemporary composers’ pieces, all performed solo by Coates using multi-tracked cello. We’ve previously heard his version of Laurence Crane’s ‘Raimondas Rumsas’ from the album and are now excited to host a full stream, which you can hear below, followed by a few words of introduction from Coates:
"Between them we sail
towards the blessed islands
where all voices are sweet
and no door is shut."
From “Fore and aft” by Norman MacCaig
"I like the way sound demarcates space. Music can melt the perception of space, as it does in ‘The room is the resonator’ by Dave Fennessy. A harmonium chord recorded in a small room with heavily muted cello and voice dissolves into the sound of a cavernous station recorded in another country. The album follows a narrative of cello wandering through different spaces; with autoharps, children’s whirlies, electronics, sub bass tones, decaying piano loops, uniting with voice again at the end recorded with a folk singer up in Caithness. I enjoy the sound of these pieces running together on vinyl and am excited for the release."
