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Wellington based electronica producer and musician Rhian Sheehan is back with his third album, Standing in Silence. And what an interesting album it is.
It is a series of soundscapes split into parts, with each track simply named 'Part 1' through to 'Part 14'. The soundscapes are all focused on evoking different moods, with instrumentation ranging from guitars, glockenspiels and piano through to electronic glitches and synths.
The great thing about this collection of sounds is that it works, and while it isn’t going to dominate any airwaves, it occupies the background perfectly. An album like this is so tough to describe, sometimes you have to bow to the artists own words...
“The idea for Standing in Silence was born from the album cover image I shot whilst in India of a lone man standing on a hill on the outskirts of Delhi, India. I found something captivating about the way this stranger was staring into the polluted landscape. He is surrounded by nature but standing still, head up, encircled by encroaching thick city smog. He seemed to me to be pondering his surroundings, taking a moment to breathe it all in, maybe in a state of reflection and contemplation. I wondered if at this moment in time and space, was he at one with himself. Had he found some sense of inner harmony and silence I believe we all try to attain in our lives?” – Rhian Sheehan
Standing in Silence has plenty of ambition and it is nice to see an artist staying so true to their original concept. Experimentalism isn’t dead.
Later this year, Sheehan will be performing live shows where Standing in Silence is backed by slow motion portraits that have been filmed in India, Japan and China. To truly appreciate his vision, I’d strongly recommend you check this out.
Essential Tracks
Part 2
Part 3
Part 8
Full Track Listing
Parts 1 – 14 (47mins)
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