Sean O’Hagan — Radum Calls, Radum Calls
Born: 1959
Associated acts: The High Llamas, Stereolab, Tim Gane, Turn On, Microdisney
Location: Cork, Ireland
Recording Location: Press Play Studios, London
Album release: 25 October 2019
Record Label: Drag City/P~Vine Records (Japan)
Duration: 37:13
Tracks:
01 Candy Clock (feat. Cathal Coughlan) 2:58
02 Better Lull Bear 3:20
03 I Am Here 2:44
04 The Paykan (Laili’s Song) 2:43
05 McCardle Brown 3:50
06 Clearing House 2:44
07 On a Lonely Day (Ding, Dong) 3:58
08 Spoken Gem 4:25
09 Sancto Electrical 1:28
10 Take My Steps (Nora Bramms) 3:19
11 Radum Calls 3:36
12 Calling, Sending 2:08
Personnel:
↵ Cathal Coughlan Composer, Lyricist, Vocals (tracks: 1, 5 & 8)
↵ Chris Fish Cello
↵ Dave Hattee Drums, Percussion
↵ Dorina Markoff~McNulty Violin
↵ Kelsey Michael Vocals
↵ Dominic Murcott Bass, Guitar, Organ, Piano, Synthesizer, Vocals
↵ Livy O’Hagan Vocals
↵ Sean O’Hagan Arranger, Composer, Lyricist
↵ Maria Osuchowska Harp
↵ Barney Philpott Trombone
↵ Tom Piggott~Smith Violin
↵ Andy Ramsay Engineer, Mixing
↵ May Robson Vocals
↵ Patrick Savage Violin
↵ Serafina Steer Harp
↵ Toby Street Trumpet
♦ Mezitím letos 25. října Sean O’Hagan vydal své druhé sólové album „Radum Calls, Radum Calls.“ Druhé sólové album za 30 let odráží odvážné nové zvuky dneška zabudované do plyšového zvukového světa, který postavil pro The High Llamas, Stereolab a mnoho dalších — mlaskavé spodní syntetizéry pod lehkými smyčci orchestru, zdubbované perkuse na vrcholných beatech bossa~novy a zvuky rumbling bubínku, pohánějící Seanovy popěvky a švitoření. Vokály hosta — bývalé partnerky Microdisney, zpěvačky Cathal Coughlan, přispívají k surrealistickému květu nové Seanovy hudební koncepce. Harfy obstarávají Serafina Steer a Maria Osuchowska, dále jsou zde 3 housle a jedno cello. Také trumpeta a trombón a velmi důležitým multihráčem je zde Dominic Murcott: Bass, Guitar, Organ, Piano, Synthesizer, Vocals.
♦ Je to album, které je nejlépe osídleno pozitivním ptactvem, místem k hledání (a nalezení) útěchy uvnitř hnízdečka pohody. Je to také album, které nemohl produkovat „nový“ umělec. Je vyvrcholením pomalého zdokonalování myšlenek v průběhu let a pečlivé sloučení široké škály hudebních vlivů. Stručně řečeno, mělo by to zajistit, že Sean už nikdy nebude muset pochybovat o svém hudebním postavení.
♦ Písně „I Am Here“ a „Take My Steps“ (Nora Bramms) opakují další klasickou vlastnost High Llamas, jmenovitě začlenění harmonizujících ženských vokálů tak, aby působily rušivě (jedním z hlasů je O’Haganova dcera Livvy). U obou také zvažoval strunná aranžmá (něco, co byste očekávali od někoho, kdo je pravidelně žádán o jeho práci v této oblasti). „The Paykan (Laili’s Song)“ je jemná, pozitivně světlá, u ní mám téměř pohádkový pocit, zatímco „Spoken Gem“ je skromná a nenáročná. „Calling, Sending“ je vtipným a vrcholným zakončením alba. Bez ohledu na jméno, je působivé, že O’Hagan pokračuje ve zkoumání tohoto malého koutku hudebního vesmíru a stále hledá nové způsoby, jak kombinovat zvuky způsobem, který potěší ucho a stimuluje mysl.
Review
by Steven Johnson, 24 Oct 2019. Score: ★★★★★
♦ The last album by The High Llamas, 2016’s excellent Here Come The Rattling Trees, may have shared musical similarities with its predecessors but it was quite different in terms of origin and purpose. It was written for a theatre production of the same name but the relative lack of response to this courageous attempt at something new caused a period of self searching for High Llamas frontman Sean O’Hagan. The reformation of his former band Microdisney in 2018 to play some shows to commemorate their The Clock Comes Down The Stairs album provided a temporary diversion but soon new songs were formulating. The result is Radum Calls Radum Calls, O’Hagan’s first album released under his own name for almost thirty years.
♦ It’s an exquisite, softly delivered wonder of an album which contains many of the things that he’s excelled at over the years while leading The High Llamas. Piano, synths, strings, harp and nylon string guitar all combine majestically to create paths that may have partially been wandered down before but are not any less sumptuous or nourishing.
♦ Candy Clock opens the album, the first of three songs to feature O’Hagan’s Microdisney bandmate Cathal Coughlan on vocals. He imparts his lines with a grandiosity that compliments the extroverted synths that abound. Coughlan also appears on the lingering, creamy ballad McCardle Brown, which is another fine example of O’Hagan’s strength in writing well~crafted songs about distinctive characters. It also sees O’Hagan revisit the fizzing background electronics that served him so well on classic High Llamas albums like Cold And Bouncy. It shows the concept of ‘antique futurism’ is still alive and well. Similarly, On A Lonely Day (Ding Dong) may have a simple melody and lyric but over the course of the three minutes it is infused with a depth and wispy loveliness that makes it impossible to resist.
♦ The album is interspersed with short instrumental interludes that make it an even more varied and engaging listen. Better Lull Bear contains some of the best baroque exotica he’s laid down to date and Clearing House is an exemplary excursion in serene psychedelia. The title track is reflective and mildly melancholic while album closer Calling, Sending has a deconstructed, library music feel.
♦ At times it’s like being in the presence of a valuable fragile ornament you want to simply admire and preserve. Moments like these also show it to be a highlight tactile album. If it was a fabric it would be the softest of cotton, the most gossamer of silk, the most brittle of linen.
♦ I Am Here and Take My Steps both reprise another classic High Llamas trait, namely that of incorporating harmonising female vocals to beguiling effect (one of the voices is O’Hagan’s daughter Livvy). Both also have considered string arrangements (something you’d expect from someone regularly called upon for his work in this area). The Paykan (Laili’s Song) is gentle and svelte and almost has a fairytale feel while Spoken Gem is modest and unassuming.
♦ It’s an album best fully inhabited, a place to seek (and find) solace inside. It also feels like an album that could not be produced by a ‘new’ artist. It’s the culmination of ideas being slowly refined over a period of years and a careful merging of a wide range of musical influences. In short, it should ensure he never need doubt his musical standing again. ♦ https://www.musicomh.com/
Label: https://www.dragcity.com/
Website: http://highllamas.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/high_llamas
FB: https://www.facebook.com/highllamas/