Held By Trees – Solace

    Held By Trees – Solace

    03 Jan

    By

    Artist: Held By Trees – Solace
    Genre: Rock
    Style: Post Rock, Experimental
    Year: 2022

    Influence – Losing something dear and finding it again

    In music land there are pioneers whose creative vision and works have overcome the hurdles most musicians face to end up on a pedestal for others to admire and be influenced by.

    Mark Hollis was one such creative force. Books have been written about his work with producer Tim Friese-Greene and their influence on post-rock musicians.

    It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of the work of both artists. Talk Talk started out as a pop band from the 80’s Duran Duran era and quickly morphed into a timeless new artform that stands up as fresh today 40 years hence. Tragically, like a lot of talented artists, they leave our company way too early and the announcement in February 2019 of his passing travelled the globe quickly amongst my friends who had elevated Hollis’s work to a spiritual level.

    Tributes to Hollis’s work had started even before his passing and artists like Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree (himself an influence on many artists) commented publicly “Another one gone. Genius and visionary, and one of my biggest musical influences. So sad 😞 Mark Hollis RIP #talktalk #markhollis #spiritofeden” shortly after the news went public.

    For those who haven’t experienced a Hollis session I highly recommend setting aside time to “deep listen” to all three albums Colour of Spring, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock back to back if you can. I’ve written about these here before.

    So what’s new?

    Well in 2022, a new gathering formed called Held By Trees to release “Solace” an album of instrumentals guided by the influence of Mark Hollis. Why instrumental? Well Hollis’s voice was an instrument of its own and often so minimal in his work that to try to have another singer imitate it would have been impossible and likely spoilt the outcome. There are musicians who are analysing his voice techniques to see how they can integrate his “sound”.

    The chief protagonist behind the album is David Joseph who sent some early compositions to Tim Friese-Greene the original producer who collaborated with Mark on the original albums and understood who Mark was.

    ”Solace” is a project featuring some of the most respected musicians in the British rock fraternity. Sitting between post-rock and prog, the album was released in April 2022. Early outtakes are available on YouTube.

    Seven veterans of the seminal latter Talk Talk and Mark Hollis solo albums with other contributors including Tim Renwick (guitar – Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Eric Clapton), Mike Smith (sax – Blur, Damon Albarn, Gorillaz), David Knopfler (guitar – Dire Straits founding member), Gary Alesbrook (trumpet – Noel Gallagher, Kasabian, Super Furry Animals) as well as parts from blues/roots legend, Eric Bibb, Dutch rising-star, Just, and ambient composer, Unknown Replica.

    They invited musicians they respected in to improvise on their arrangements. Guitarist Robbie McIntosh (Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, John Mayer), drummer/percussionist Martin Ditcham (Chris Rea, The Waterboys, Nik Kershaw), bassist Simon Edwards (Michael Jackson, Billy Bragg, Fairground Attraction) all took part in those sessions, and have now contributed to ’Solace’.

    A solo record from Mark Hollis featured pianist Lawrence Pendrous, and flautist/clarinetist Andy Panayi, both of whom have also now played for Held By Trees.

    Engineering all of these albums, is Phill Brown, with Denis Blackham mastering them. Phill and Denis kindly came out of retirement to mix and master this debut album from Held By Trees.

    ‘Solace’ is not a homage to ‘Spirit of Eden’ or ‘Laughing Stock’ but more a continuation with David Joseph inviting musicians to improvise over his rhythm patterns and chord progressions like Hollis and Greene did in times past. Blending spontaneous compositions and field recordings made in Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset to create a unique album that preserves the influences of Talk Talk records whilst striking new ground.

    Hollis and Talk Talk was melancholic and at same time full of hope. Some dark deep lyrics.

    “Solace” demands patient “deep” listening. It can be added into the trio to make a quartet of music that extends into the wee “dram” hours on special occasions.

    I have a dear friend who once independently close to midnight called me about some “so-and-so” who had bid on a Parlaphone Spirit of Eden on eBay and driven the price up to an unbelievable amount. He said “Buddy I just lost my s@#t” and had to win a bidding war on this rare UK Hollis. I confessed the “so-and-so” was me and I had unknowingly been bidding and frustrated that someone else kept outbidding me for one of our favourite artists. We agreed from that point on to plan our bidding on eBay so we don’t fight each other over precious treasures and to call if ever there was another album that would cause us to go ballistic.

    This same dear friend called me when their Solace LP arrived and played it for the first time. His opening words were “Buddy I just lost my s@#t”.

    If that doesn’t influence you to hunt this album down…

    Track listing

    • Next To Silence
    • In The Trees
    • Rain After Sun
    • Wave Upon Wave
    • An Approach
    • The Tree Of Life
    • Mysterium
    • The New Earth
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