‘The Crisp Breath Of Dawn‘, the first single from Ben Marston & Hugh Barrett’s Unfound Places – a delicate mix of ambience and jazz culminating in weightless soundscapes you can almost vanish into.
To compare such a beautiful piece of work to anything else almost seems unfair, but Canberra born Marston cites legendary musicians and composers such as Jon Hassell and Jan Bang, his mentor, as huge influences to his work. This manifests in the breathtaking array of stripped down electronics which guide the journey-inspiring compositions, shimmering with hints of Brian Eno’s atmospheric ambience.
“Jan is one of the most generous teachers I have ever had the pleasure of studying under,” says Marston,” which was evidenced by him arranging for me to spend time with Nils Petter Molvaer, Arve Henriksen and Eivind Aarset at the Punkt Festival in 2014. I had never been so inspired to make music in a way that is honest to yourself and this is what I know strive to do.”
Ringing true to its name, opening track and first single The Crisp Breath of Dawnbears the bleary eyed wonder of waking up to a new day. As the first tinkle of piano keys introduces the song, there’s a sense of bewilderment that sweeps you up like a leaf curling in the breeze. It evokes imagery of cold air and warm colours, serving as the perfect soundtrack to the fading Australian autumn.
“The Crisp Breath of Dawn came about as a title because it evokes in my mind’s eye the kind of cold, clear and peaceful morning seen from the top of the various hills around Canberra in the depth of winter,” says Marston. “The entire process of this album (not just this track) is very much about utilising live remix and as a result the album is entirely improvised – it very much relies on both Hugh and my own natural musical sensibilities and willingness to follow each other and not try to direct each other.”
The beauty of Unfound Places is that every song on the record feels fresh, spacious and gorgeous. Each one of the eight tracks creates a feeling like you’re waking up to a new world of beauty and colour – it’s riddled with perfect moments of evocative, touching minimalism. A truly charming record, and well worth noticing for lovers of spacious, calm ambience, minimalism and meditative sounds.
Their first single, The Crisp Breath of Dawn is out now.
