First ever chance to own The Green Kingdom’s music on vinyl (limited to 175 editions), ‘The North Wind…’ was originally slated to release on cassette only, but when handed this much beauty it seemed only right to honor it with vinyl. Mastered by Taylor Deupree, who’s skills have served Lost Tribe Sound well over many vinyl releases including Western Skies Motel’s ‘Settlers’, Mute Forest’s ‘Deforestation’, and the upcoming From the Mouth of the Sun album arriving in the fall of 2017.
If one is searching for a beacon of light in Lost Tribe Sound’s undeniably dark roster of releases this year, look no further. The Green Kingdom’s new full-length album ’The North Wind and the Sun’ is like a cool breeze on a heated summer day. Perhaps music this gentle feels out of place, even glutinous, given the currently harsh climate of the world, yet the truth may be that we need it now more than ever. Music like this offers an opportunity to pause, to regain our center, to shift focus towards bettering our surroundings versus cursing them.
With over a decade of creating albums of the dusted-down ambient electronic variety, The Green Kingdom has finely honed his abilities to express these concepts of transformation in a non-verbal way, utilizing a deft blend of majestic post-rock style guitar, rolling bass and an unusual palette of acoustic instrumentation weaving them into a wide variety of electronic gear and synths. On a mission to find the right dose of aural sanity, Michigan native, Michael Cottone (aka The Green Kingdom) has experimented with a wide variety of electronic styles from dub to drone, yet his strongest efforts were perhaps born of his electro-acoustic works. His greatest strengths center around his ability to write some of the most ear pleasing melodies imaginable.
At headquarters we pondered what would happen if Cottone abandoned the majority of his electronic equipment and limited his arsenal to nearly all acoustic instrumentation? It’s a similar question to the one we proposed to Cock & Swan back in the day, with their exceptional album ‘Stash’. Asking kindly, Cottone obliged. After a number of months of trial and error TGK delivered us this experiment. We were floored, not only is the music still undeniably that of The Green Kingdom, it seems to exude a new sense of wonder and confidence.
‘The North Wind...’ is the aural equivalent of the fondest, hazy memories gleamed from childhood days past. The melodies are playful and comforting like womb-filtered lullabies. While this new delivery may shock some familiar with TGK’s previous outings, Cottone seems quite comfortable with this new primarily acoustic set of sounds, inventing his own heart-warming brand of Americana.
That said, the music pays respects to its roots, recalling the more pastoral, primitive works of William Ryan Fritch, Western Skies Motel and John Fahey, the woozy mechanically-inclined folk of Boards of Canada or Part Timer, the bright, sincere melodies of Amiina or mbira virtuoso Richard Crandell. Throughout the thirteen song album, The Green Kingdom gives a very intimate look behind the curtain, one brimming with personality, a tender collection of homespun reveries one can tell has been building in Cottone’s mind for years. This is a rare and sublime new chapter for TGK.
1. Signs and Wonders
2. The Singing River
3. Rusted Relic I
4. Virescent
5. Unnamed Lands
6. Aventurine
7. The Beacon Tree
8. Rusted Relic II
9. Silt
10. From the Ashes of Industry
11. Ramshacklet
12. Rusted Relic III
13. Children of Light
