
Stream single:
LP Release Notes:
In a time of face masks and plexiglass; lockdowns and furloughs, I have no doubt that I was not alone in becoming even more stressed and anxious than usual.
Though insomnia was stealing my nights, I was able to channel this exhaustion into something positive, and the results from this intense episode are here on ‘High and Lonesome’.
Composed, recorded, and mixed in June 2020; the whole process became a cathartic and calming experience, and I hope this will be true for listeners of the album too.
Perhaps the very absence of sleep is the invisible, guiding hand that authored and informed these sonic dreamscapes and their ethereal narratives; an aural aid in the art of losing yourself, surrendering and letting go.
Everything you hear on this album was created by using pedal steel guitar as the sole/soul sound source; at times unrecognisable, but always affecting.
The album's title refers, in part, to the 'high lonesome sound' - "...An expressively emotional, powerful and earthy style of musical expression associated mainly with bluegrass, old-time and country music, characterised by unmetered music ...".
To my ears, though, the 'high lonesome sound' is best conjured by the keening cry of the pedal steel; an aching, melancholic weeping, yet paradoxically remains uplifting.
The Howard Hughes Suite
Credits:
All music © The Howard Hughes Suite
Artwork:
Not only does The Howard Hughes Suite's passion run deep for the art and craft of music, he's also an avid photographer, with an idiosyncratic eye, and designs his own cover artwork. An exhibition of his photography, film and music is expected later in the year.
Mastering: Ian Hawgood (www.homenormal.com)