David Sheppard & Keiron Phelan - "Theme from Cardinal Menthol" Invisible Soundtracks Macro 3 2000 Ambient / Downtempo
As kindred multi-instrumentalist spirits from London who seem to take equal cues from the sometimes intertwining realms of post-rock and ambient, David Sheppard and Keiron Phelan had been making music together since 1996 before adding a drummer to their clan to form a noteworthy trio called State River Widening. In 2000, the two of them started officially releasing music without a drummer too, though, and one of those efforts, a lushly chill soundscape called "Theme from Cardinal Menthol," appeared exclusively on UK leftfield electronic label Leaf Recordings' Invisible Soundtracks Macro 3 that year.
If you're someone who particularly enjoys hazy and dreamlike, relaxingly ambient atmospheres, then "Theme from Cardinal Menthol" is probably for you too. It's one of those classy and intricately woven meditative sedatives that's made to be listened to with eyes closed. The term 'Cardinal Menthol' appears to have been a vintage brand of cigarettes that were manufactured in the US, but I'm unclear as to whether or not Keiron and David actually knew that. What may be more likely is that they conceived of a score for a wholly imagined film by that name, containing complementary flavors that manage to simultaneously evoke both David Lynch's surrealism and Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. Plus, of course, whatever dreamt-up scene this music was composed for was shot in slow-mo too.
Some uniquely cool stuff to fondle the mind with while unwinding from the day 👍😌.
