JAMES MAINWARING - Mycorrhiza
Discus Music: Discus111CD
Aby Vulliamy: viola, vocals; Michael Bardon: ‘cello, double bass; Fergus Quill: double bass; Steve Hanley: drums; Chris Sharkey: electronics; James Mainwaring: saxophones, vocals, field recordings, granular synth, Fender Rhodes, piano, flutes;
Recorded by Tim Thomas at OLS Studios
Mycorrhiza describes the ways in which fungi colonize the roots of a host plant, sometimes in a symbiotic manner (particularly in the ways in which the fungi can channel water and nutrients) but sometimes parasitically. The scrabbling that introduces the opening tracks, ‘Intro’ and ‘Dawn’, could be a metaphor for the spreading of these fungi. The collection of slow-burn compositions have the sense of a Suite, reflecting the natural world. With titles like ‘Roots’ (track 4), ‘Komorebi’ (track 3 – referring to the dappled light of the sun through leaves), ‘Web’ (track 8) one can see the influence of the host trees; with titles like ‘Machines’ (track 5), ‘Our lungs’ (track 10) and ‘Globe’ (track 11). The musicianship is of a very high standard, and the intricacies of Mainwaring’s compositions are compelling, drawing the listener into a complex world. But equally compelling is the ways in which Mainwaring’s vocals intersect with those of Aby Vulliamy (whose own 2018 ‘Spin Cycle’ has her unique approach to soft, almost whispered lyrics over musical forms that simulate the complexity of natural forms). As well as celebration of nature, the album has a clear and heartfelt warming of humankind’s destructive presence. Mainwaring’s lyrics for some of the pieces follow a structure dictated by syllable count. like Japanese haiku poems. On ‘Our Lungs’ he says ‘Our lungs are burning… Our lungs are dying’; on ‘Globe’ he says, ‘They burn and flood / The ground is aching / Its hands are waving / You were parasites / In paradise / Now go and don’t come back’. But there is also recognition of the challenges that come from protesting to spread this warming. On ‘Woken up by dogs’ Mainwaring makes reference to ‘men in black and white’ who ‘cuffed my hands / Ripping the superglue’. The use of glue has been particularly widely reported in relation to Extinction Rebellion, and while there is nothing on the album’s sleeve to signify links to this movement, the pieces emphasise that many ways in which humankind is harming the planet and other species. So, a clear and heart-felt Ecological warning wrapped in a suite of highly effective tunes.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Discus Music: Discus111CD
Aby Vulliamy: viola, vocals; Michael Bardon: ‘cello, double bass; Fergus Quill: double bass; Steve Hanley: drums; Chris Sharkey: electronics; James Mainwaring: saxophones, vocals, field recordings, granular synth, Fender Rhodes, piano, flutes;
Recorded by Tim Thomas at OLS Studios
Mycorrhiza describes the ways in which fungi colonize the roots of a host plant, sometimes in a symbiotic manner (particularly in the ways in which the fungi can channel water and nutrients) but sometimes parasitically. The scrabbling that introduces the opening tracks, ‘Intro’ and ‘Dawn’, could be a metaphor for the spreading of these fungi. The collection of slow-burn compositions have the sense of a Suite, reflecting the natural world. With titles like ‘Roots’ (track 4), ‘Komorebi’ (track 3 – referring to the dappled light of the sun through leaves), ‘Web’ (track 8) one can see the influence of the host trees; with titles like ‘Machines’ (track 5), ‘Our lungs’ (track 10) and ‘Globe’ (track 11). The musicianship is of a very high standard, and the intricacies of Mainwaring’s compositions are compelling, drawing the listener into a complex world. But equally compelling is the ways in which Mainwaring’s vocals intersect with those of Aby Vulliamy (whose own 2018 ‘Spin Cycle’ has her unique approach to soft, almost whispered lyrics over musical forms that simulate the complexity of natural forms). As well as celebration of nature, the album has a clear and heartfelt warming of humankind’s destructive presence. Mainwaring’s lyrics for some of the pieces follow a structure dictated by syllable count. like Japanese haiku poems. On ‘Our Lungs’ he says ‘Our lungs are burning… Our lungs are dying’; on ‘Globe’ he says, ‘They burn and flood / The ground is aching / Its hands are waving / You were parasites / In paradise / Now go and don’t come back’. But there is also recognition of the challenges that come from protesting to spread this warming. On ‘Woken up by dogs’ Mainwaring makes reference to ‘men in black and white’ who ‘cuffed my hands / Ripping the superglue’. The use of glue has been particularly widely reported in relation to Extinction Rebellion, and while there is nothing on the album’s sleeve to signify links to this movement, the pieces emphasise that many ways in which humankind is harming the planet and other species. So, a clear and heart-felt Ecological warning wrapped in a suite of highly effective tunes.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
