MZL003

Mole Harness

a present from the future

January 2006

39:15

This is the second album from Mole Harness, following 2004’s ‘All Your Memories Return At Once’. Whereas his debut had been written on a relatively basic sampler, ‘a present from the future’ was created using a computer, taking advantage of the vastly expanded sonic palette of software recording. Recognising that hardware limitations had played a key role in shaping his initial sound, he decided that the best way to focus his creativity in this potentially distracting new environment was to strictly limit the instrumental sources he could work with. As a result this album is constructed entirely from acoustic, electric and bass guitars. Stripping away the drum machines, synths, percussion and found-sounds of previous releases also chimed with the desire to refine his music to its very essence and produce a more coherent, concise work.
As the eight tracks here unfold, digitally processed versions of each melodic element are layered alongside their recognisably picked and strummed counterparts. The central theme of the album is this contrast between treated and untreated versions of the same guitar material, and the defining sound is that of pristine six-string progressions set against a backdrop of rippling tonal texture.
Working with a computer has also allowed Mole Harness to expand upon the structures of his music, and many of these tracks consist of two or more separate yet melodically related sections, which ebb seamlessly into one other.
The final album was selected from twelve tracks recorded in various periods between July 2004 and October 2005. It comes in a black card sleeve with cover photograph by Cecilia Ek.

Limited to 250 copies, sold out (Re-released on Japanese label Umi in March 2007, remastered and rehoused in a digipak in an edition of 1000 copies).

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