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Snow Palms - Land Waves - woodwinds add a nice counterpoint to electronics in this cinematic minimalist set
New minimalist duo Snow Palms David Sheppard (Ellis Island Sound) & Matt Gooderson (Infadels) excavate kinetic and resonant architectures that oscillate between the acoustic and the electronic; in the patterns and processes of systems in tandem with the vibratory energy of the universe.
Snow Palms - Everything Ascending
Just over a year after the release of sophomore album Origin and Echo, Snow Palms return with a powerful two-track 12” – almost 18 minutes of music in total. A-side ‘Everything Ascending’ sees Snow Palms mainstay David Sheppard’s signature glinting electronics and crystalline glockenspiels augmented by the modular synths, tapes, piano and production skills of Matt Gooderson (Infadels), the vigorous, rhythmic clarinets of Christian Forshaw (Michael Nyman Band, Icebreaker) and the soaring vocal flights of Megan Gooderson (London Philharmonic Choir). AA-side ‘Circling’, meanwhile, is a bold orchestral reimagining of one of the highlights from Origin and Echo. A response to their own remix of ‘Cycle 12’ by fellow Village Green artist and renowned film music arranger/orchestrator Matt Dunkley (Inception, Black Swan, Iron Man), this is a brilliant repositioning of Snow Palms’ music in the emotion-soaked cinematic idiom. The original’s rich melodic palette and powerful rhythmic undertows are beautifully reworked for elaborately layered, potently arranged strings.
Snow Palms ~ Land Waves
Snow Palms ~ Land Waves
Last year we reviewed Everything Ascending, a double-sided EP from the rejuvenated Snow Palms, our first sampling of the act as an official duo (and an unofficial quartet). The title track is included on Land Waves, but a pleasant surprise is that the new tracks rise to its level of beauty. In order to appreciate the album, one must enjoy glockenspiels, chimes and a holiday-like timbre; the…
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Snow Palms ~ Everything Ascending
Snow Palms ~ Everything Ascending
Here’s a fun one, as Snow Palms returns with a new lineup and a new sound. At first, Snow Palms was a solo venture for mallet instrumentalist David Sheppard with friends; Origin and Echo made a big impact when it was released in late 2017. Now the act is a duo including Matt Gooderson (synth, tape, piano). But perhaps today for Everything Ascending, we can consider Snow Palms a quartet, as…
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“Rite” - Snow Palms
Snow Palms - Origin and Echo (Village Green Recordings)
Two years in the making, 'Origin and Echo' builds on the foundations of its predecessor, 'Intervals' with a heavy quotient of metallophones, glockenspiels and marimbas at its core, but largely eschews the latter’s chamber arrangements in favour of soaring synth-scapes and a palette of spectral ambient and electronic textures. Despite that, 'Origin and Echo' is a more performative record than was Intervals, its eleven organic, kinetic pieces meticulously constructed by David Sheppard from initial percussive skeletons largely essayed instinctively, in free time, without click-tracks and with almost no guitar. The album is loosely predicated on themes of mirroring and rebounding, whether physical or metaphorical, inspired by everything from the gravity-defying parabolas of space flight to patterns of human migration and feelings of déjà vu summoned by nostalgic journeys. While the album is mostly the work of David Sheppard working alone or in tandem with producer Giles Barrett, it also features cameos from previous Snow Palms collaborator Christopher Leary (synthesisers), alongside Emma Winston (Omnichord), Lauri Wuolio (cupola drum) and Village Green label-mate Angèle David-Guillou (keyboards).
Snow Palms ~ Origin and Echo
Snow Palms ~ Origin and Echo
One cannot listen to the music of Snow Palms without making associations. The use of mallet instruments, in particular glockenspiel, marimba and metallophone, conjures images of snow, winter, Christmas and magic lands. The reason is likely subliminal, as church bells and sleigh bells share similar timbres. The name helps; one thinks of the happy tropics, with a touch of white. This is the…
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