NICK PYNN : In
Mirrored Sky
Some notes and excerpts... 'In Osnabrück'
(Fiddle and octave fiddle) : Written during a German tour a week
after a journey over unmade roads and turnip fiels in the East.
'Glide' (Acoustic guitar) : Arose from walks over the Sussex
Downs and traffic jams on the M23. 'Through Trees' (Dulcimer
and mandocello) : Light flickering through a grove of sycamore
and beech trees. For this track the dulcimer has added thumb and
sympathetic strings and is played in a 'frailing' banjo style.
'The Mill' (Dulcimer and violins) : The 'melodic' banjo
style is used on the dulcimer here. Another dulcimer is droned
with a bow. 'The Tunnel And The Fair' (Violin, bouzouki,
mandocello and guitar) : This was inspired by a walk through a
narrow tunnel in Biarritz, France; echoing car horns, conversation
and a 19th century merry-go-round at the end of the tunnel.
'A Quarter-Past Kite' (5-string banjo,
mandocello, bouzouki and violin) : Eskimos, derelict buildings
and Grahame Greene. 'Sunday's Window' (Guitar and violins)
: Written one rainy autumn; grey clouds, church spires and the
cycle of life and death. 'The Myth Of The Land' (Acoustic
guitar) : Blue Peter, c. 1970; somewhere in the jungle people
were diving from a platform with vines tied around their ankles
- the native roots of bunjee jumping. 'In Mirrored Sky'
(Bouzouki, mandocello, violin, and guitar) : A chip in a mirror;
a distant hot air balloon just above the horizon in dusk mirrored
by another in the sunset behind.
'The Correct Selection Of Gears' (Mandocello,
banjo, and slide guitar) : CHU 394C R.I.P. The title comes
from an owners workshop manual. 'For Chloe' (Dulcimer and
guitar) : For my daughter, written shortly after her birth. 'The
Illusionist' (Acoustic guitar) : The romance of performing,
without the blemishes of real life. 'Under A Greek Moon'
(Acoustic guitar and mandolin) : Inspired by an extended weekend
in Athens. 'A Stiller Place' (Acoustic Guitar) : The calm
after the storm.
The album is dedicated to the memory of my mother,
Joan Margaret Pynn. 9th February 1922 - 17th April 1995.
Performers : Nick Pynn - Violin, acoustic
guitar, dulcimer, mandocello, bouzouki, mandolin and 5 string
banjo; Herbie Flowers - double bass on 'Through Trees',
'Glide', 'In Mirrored Sky', and 'The Correct Selection Of Gears';
Adrian Oxaal - Cello on 'Glide'; Neil Smith - Darabhuka
on 'The Mill'; Maxine Sweatman - Hurdy Gurdy on 'The Tunnel
And The Fair'.
In Mirrored Sky : Reviews.
"A multi-instrumentalist
of considerable skill, and a composer of sensitivity and imagination..."
Spins.
"Fourteen tracks display
a range of music which is really imaginative...This album is a
must for the stressed out layman as well as for stringed instrument
players to check out " Musician Magazine.
"...an individual take
on folk music...Nick Pynn doesn't stick to the harmonic conventions,
bringing unusual instrumentation into the idiom...an individual
voice..."
Mark Russell. " Mixing It
", BBC Radio 3.
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