- 1Lilac
- 2Yolk
- 3Truth Home
- 4Collage
- 5Woodlouse Interlude
- 6Moss Gathering
- 7Toad
- 8Have A Great Trip
- 9Daughter
003
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Open edition
Hart's Tongue is an album of puzzles, mirror images and juxtaposition, punctuated by moments of restlessness and calm.
A psychogeographic exploration of birth and new life, discovery, and what it means to belong in a place, Hart’s Tongue sees Somerset-based composer and producer S.Costa expand on the sonic palette of his earlier work, with a new album written with Buchla Music Easel, Prophet 5 and woodwind.
The monumental album opener ‘Lilac’ sets the tone. Dizzying ascending arpeggios open into numerous sonic detours before building to a catharsis, anchored in the rhythm of the in utero heartbeat of the composer’s child.
Other pieces take the theme of birth and new life in more playful directions. The crystalline flutters of ‘Yolk’ contrast with the almost bodily burbles and squelches of ‘Truth Home’.
‘Collage’ offers a momentary change in direction as the only piece not recorded in Costa’s home studio in Somerset. As Costa recalls: “I recorded Collage in a single take at VSM in LA. It was a morning session, and when I arrived all the equipment had only just been turned on. I immediately started playing their ancient Prophet 5 and this is what came out. Analogue synthesisers, especially old ones, take time to warm up. I love that in this performance you can hear the instrument start to come alive. It’s unstable and unpredictable, and you can hear the electricity crackling on the old circuits.”
Side B opens with ‘Moss Gathering’ and brings us back to the shady woodland of Somerset. The hyperactive polyrhythms of the opening section give way to a transcendent moment of calm that recalls the dappled sunlight finding the forest floor.
The expansive album closer ‘Daughter’ evokes an elusive sort of nostalgia. A soaring Easel melody gives way to a Riley-esque improvisation, which gives way to an understated piano refrain, the album’s gentlest moment. It takes us back to where we began, only where we were previously looking forward, we are now looking back.
A psychogeographic exploration of birth and new life, discovery, and what it means to belong in a place, Hart’s Tongue sees Somerset-based composer and producer S.Costa expand on the sonic palette of his earlier work, with a new album written with Buchla Music Easel, Prophet 5 and woodwind.
The monumental album opener ‘Lilac’ sets the tone. Dizzying ascending arpeggios open into numerous sonic detours before building to a catharsis, anchored in the rhythm of the in utero heartbeat of the composer’s child.
Other pieces take the theme of birth and new life in more playful directions. The crystalline flutters of ‘Yolk’ contrast with the almost bodily burbles and squelches of ‘Truth Home’.
‘Collage’ offers a momentary change in direction as the only piece not recorded in Costa’s home studio in Somerset. As Costa recalls: “I recorded Collage in a single take at VSM in LA. It was a morning session, and when I arrived all the equipment had only just been turned on. I immediately started playing their ancient Prophet 5 and this is what came out. Analogue synthesisers, especially old ones, take time to warm up. I love that in this performance you can hear the instrument start to come alive. It’s unstable and unpredictable, and you can hear the electricity crackling on the old circuits.”
Side B opens with ‘Moss Gathering’ and brings us back to the shady woodland of Somerset. The hyperactive polyrhythms of the opening section give way to a transcendent moment of calm that recalls the dappled sunlight finding the forest floor.
The expansive album closer ‘Daughter’ evokes an elusive sort of nostalgia. A soaring Easel melody gives way to a Riley-esque improvisation, which gives way to an understated piano refrain, the album’s gentlest moment. It takes us back to where we began, only where we were previously looking forward, we are now looking back.
