[Photo Credit: Jonathan Lorange]
Musk Ox/The Night Watch guitarist NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE has officially unveiled Skyward, the complete, unedited mix of Sky from LAROCHETTE’s stunning 2016-released double solo album, Earth And Sky. Comprised of two distinct yet complementary albums, Earth was a collection of solo classical guitar works which acted as the stark acoustic counterpart to Sky, a layered, forty-minute ambient electric composition.
LAROCHETTE elaborates, “Originally commissioned for an app designed to accompany commuters on specific Ottawa public transit bus routes, Skyward represents the complete, unedited composition that was later remixed and released as disc two of Earth And Sky back in 2016. When I was asked which bus route I wanted to score, I immediately chose the one which I had taken to and from the airport countless times. The anticipation that accompanies our departures as well as our homecomings remained at the core of the music, inspiring both the texture and atmosphere of the piece.”
Preview and purchase Skyward at LAROCHETTE’s official Bandcamp page.
Earlier this year, LAROCHETTE released Old Growth, a moving collection of solo acoustic compositions recorded live (often by candlelight) in a woodland cabin on the shores of White Lake, Ontario. Coming off the demanding productions of both The Night Watch and Musk Ox’s critically acclaimed third records, the idea for Old Growth was simple enough: record each of the album’s pieces live in a single take, capturing the atmosphere of the moment in all its delicate glory. After three grueling days of recording, what emerged is the starkest and most immediate record of NATHANAEL LAROCHETTE’s rich catalog. Deeply inspired by the acoustic realms of legendary records like Agalloch’s The Mantle, Opeth’s Morningrise, and Ulver’s Kveldssanger, Old Growth is a woodland meditation capable of entrancing minimalist folk enthusiasts and metal aficionados alike.
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