Following
an extremely successful three years as Prefuse 73, Atlanta’s
golden boy, Scott Herren, returns with his more laidback
project as Savath & Savalas, continuing his journey
through beautiful melodic territories started over four
years ago with the superb Folk Songs For Trains,
Trees & Honey, originally released on Chicago-based
label Hefty back in 2000, and a year later on Warp.
Escaping his native Atlanta for the sunny shores of
Barcelona eighteen months ago, Herren embarked on a
journey to find his roots, looking to soak up as much
of his father’s native culture as he could. On
the way, he hooked up with Catalan singer/songwriter
Eva Puyuelo Muns, with who he shares an interest for
Latin American music. Immersing himself totally in the
Spanish way of life, he started exchanging ideas with
the singer, and the result is this heart-felt, emotional
collection of melancholic songs, with a profusion of
guitars, accordions, concertina, harps finding their
way through Herren’s electronic experiments. Entirely
recorded at home, in the outskirt of Barcelona, the
album was then brought back to Tortoise’s Chicago-based
SOMA studio where Scott mixed the album with John McEntire,
with additional recording sessions featuring Tortoise
drummer Johnny Herndon, Josh Abrams on bass, Paul Mertens
and Dave Max Crawford on horns and additional vocals
provided by Bride Of No No’s Azita Youssefi. If
Apropa’t shares with Folk Songs...
a definite nostalgia and luscious melodies, it couldn’t
be more different from his work as Prefuse 73. Here,
Herren crafts a series of precious melodic structures,
forming a stunning backdrop for Muns’s voice to
develop and transcend his musical realm. Often joining
the Catalan singer on vocal duties as well as taking
full control of the sonic landscapes, Scott Herren continuously
surprises and charms with simple ideas which, examined
closer, prove far more complex than originally perceptible.
Unlike on Folk Songs..., where Herren was toying
with moody atmospheres, Apropa’t fights
its way through the torpor of the day to relax in the
cooler early evening, sipping a cocktail at the terrace
of a café while girls in cars drive by. From
the city hum of the beginning of Introducción
to the sun-drenched melodies of Colores Sin Nombre,
Um Girassol Da Cor De Seu Cabelo or Sigue
Tu Camino (No Sabes Amar…) which closes the
album, and the delicate string arrangements and Brazilian
feel of A La Nit or Radio Llocs Espacial,
every sound has its place and contributes to strengthening
the fragile equilibrium that exists between acoustic
and electronic, simplicity and abstraction, and above
all the balance between Mums and Herren.
With this new album, Scott Herren proves once again
that he is not only one of the most prolific musicians
of his generation, but also one of the most talented.
Totally unphased by the success of Prefuse 73 and the
status he has gained following the release of One
Word Extinguisher, Herren crafts here a delicate
and incredibly inviting piece of work.
4.4/5 |
