Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going...
All is Memory is another delectable slice of ambient drift from Hotel Neon. Music is a window to the soul, and on All is Memory, the ambient trio look out upon the world with melancholic, but appreciative, eyes. Brothers Andrew and Michael Tasselmyer are joined by Steven Kemner for what feels like a retrospective as well as a renewed understanding of life, how it’s comprised of memories and made up of moments which come and go. Looking back is a natural, ingrained part of the brain’s wiring, and one cannot help but retreat into the past upon occasion. All is Memory not only recalls these treasures, but it opens up the floodgates for them to come surging into the light.
Hotel Neon are able to extract the sound of a memory as if it were amber. The tones are fluid and the music naturally follows, going back through the years, travelling through the older decades to reach a sun-dappled moment in time. Angelic tones meet deep and surrounding ambient swells, and deeper textures swim in murkier lower registers. ‘Blossom in Ruin’ reflects on and understands that loss is a part of life; things can never stay the same, and change is constant. The tidal rhythm can be felt within the pulse of the music and heard within the sound of the surf, rising up to the shoreline and then washing everything away, reclaiming the music; ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Like the current, music drags one away. Even as the music feels like it’s returning to the safe haven of the past, it’s still progressing, and with every second that goes by, the track comes closer to its endpoint, resembling life itself. In the end, everything is washed away. All is memory...
Made by hand,
The design for 'All is Memory' is absolutely stunning. We have once again managed to source a family history caught on film and photography dating from 1915 through to 1959. The collection of nostalgic imagery from a family line includes vintage (Circa 1930's) photo negatives resting inside hand numbered wax bags, negatives are 9cm x 6cm, negatives and photographs from vintage Kodak wallets, rare vintage Kodak red border 35mm photo slides, (Circa 1958), vintage snapshot photo packs (Circa 1928-1959), vintage family photographs (Circa 1918-1953), 16/35mm reel to reel film / audio strips, vintage hand written family written letters, all housed in beautiful Japanese wax bags (stitched / sealed). Also includes patchouli scent and download code. Each package is completely unique with no two the same. Most definitely one for the collectors among you.
Made with love...
credits
released December 30, 2020
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Music: Hotel Neon
Mastering: Rafael Anton Irisarri
Print design: Craig Tattersall
A6 print: Benoît Pioulard
Packaging design: Daniel Crossley
Thanks: Mikula Lullwitz
The cover art inspired me to go alone in the park, lay down under a big tree, and get immersed in this ethereal ambient, watching the cloudy cold sky through its late november naked branches. And yes, the soundscape seems bigger than if listened in the living room. BVCVLEI
Let's put it this way- this is simply one of our favourite works ever!...A collection of variations on a theme that drift by, perfuming the air, or that stop a moment to whisper you a story. Evocative in its sparse beauty, We are sure this will been the permanent playlist always, right alongside Arvo Part's "Alina" and offthesky's "Silent went the Sea" ....ss/tm/am editions vaché
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