Nunc Stans has always been inspired by far northern landscapes and the subjective states that accompany or are induced by them. Much of this collection is a sonic analog of those landscapes ... drawn in sound across the silence.
A sublime journey through expansive soundworlds, rich with detail, immersive atmospheres, and an underlying grandeur.
Composed and performed by Anthony Paul Kerby late 2008 to early 2009.
"Anthony Paul Kerby of London, Ontario, has a cupboard full of noms-de-musique and runs his own label issuing a steady stream of like-minded ambient artists in attractive thin jewel cases. As Nunc Stans he explores his predilection for the Far North, and Meridian is his attempt at creating its 'sonic analog'.
Deploying a broad range of instruments, each track has its own very distinct character as he drifts from a dreamy, pastel-coloured snowscape ('Where the Figures Were Drawn') to a more 'True North', the album´s majestically understated finale featuring black-fly buzz and tall pine stretching toward an iron-grey sky. Will it rain or will it turn into snow?
A pleasant chill shivers through each epic sound poem, each aspiring to narrative movement rather than the stasis often preferred as the parameter of most Arctic Ambient. Kerby moves through deceptively varied geography - I imagine him taking the Polar Express up to Moose Factory, continuing along the coast of Hudson Bay until meeting real polar bears in Churchill, and then setting out for the wastes, into Nunavut and beyond.
The winds shift, the ice melts and then freezes solid again, the snow falls in clusters big as mittens or tiny as pinpricks. Perhaps the most poignant moment on the album is the brief snatch of piano wrapped in a monochrome fog on "Svalbard", reminding us that one is never really all alone.
Meridian is solid, light, and enjoyable ... the prevailing impression is one of a pristine and lively artistic vision very much its own."
Stephen Fruitman - Sonomo.net
1.
Meridian 2.
Where The Figures Were Drawn 3.
Departure Arrival 4.
Svalbard 5.
Nothing But The Sky 6.
We Do Not Know 7. Excursion
8.
The Promise Of Return 9. Watery Grave
10.
True North
Total 61:29
Date March 2009
Download mp3 encoded at 256kbs.
