Thursday, May 25, 2006

helios



do not underestimate what i am about to tell you:
this album has blown me away more than any other release so far this year.
and i can only see it growing on me even more with additional listens.

here are two separate accounts of my initial experiences with helios, the alias of classically trained musician keith kenniff (a.k.a. goldmund):

the first time was in my car, during my morning commute to work two days ago. as i sat at a stoplight in the early morning, an old, beaten-down, rusted-out pontiac 3000-le sat waiting for the light to turn in front of me. it held a family of three, a young girl safely belted in the backseat. as "bless this morning year" poured through my car's speakers, my mind completely zoned out as i observed them, the sounds around me slowly and completely absorbing me. a feeling came over me that was so surreal, almost angelic. i felt as though i was being given a peek into the transient beauty and harmony of humanity.

yesterday afternoon. i set my imotion speakers up on the coffee table and played this record for the second time while i sat on the couch, my two-month-old son drifting off to sleep in my arms. somewhere around track 2, "halving the compass," the rich textures and gorgeous swells of eingya became a perfect match for the replete serenity and unquestionable comfort i could see on luke's face as he slept so peacefully.
the beauty of the moment almost overwhelmed me.

while i would not endorse the comparisons myself, i can understand why people will inevitably compare helios' sound to sigur rós'. the last time i felt so moved and overcome by a piece of music was the first time i heard ágætis byrjun.

MP3: "bless this morning year"
MP3: "dragonfly across an ancient sky"
MP3: "paper tiger"
from the album: eingya
release date: 06/07/06
label: type
myspace: add as friend

7 Comments:

Blogger matt said...

i don't really see the comparison to sigur ros but i am enjoying the tracks.

12:17 PM  
Blogger mikejonze said...

i don't neither. i was just saying that it's inevitable that some people will make that comparison just b/c of how beautiful it is.

12:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think the sigur ros comparison is fair. It definitely has the post rock/ambient feel to it. I almost want to say it is Mogwai-lite, but not quite. Thanks for the music.

2:13 PM  
Blogger mikejonze said...

Yes, I'd agree with you and actually thought this, as well, while listening to it. It's much more similar to Mogwai than Sigur Rós.

2:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the write-up for this. One of the few times I've been able to read a blog's description and know exactly how the music will be.

"...a peek into the transient beauty and harmony of humanity."

"...replete serenity and unquestionable comfort"

You've got a way with words. Thanks for the music!

1:04 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

thanks for the music!

keith kenniff is truly a great musician.

i'm not sure if you know about Ulrich Schnauss yet but if you don't... he's definitely worth a listen. he's got some mp3s up in his website www.ulrich-schnauss.net

4:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey I was wondering if you could repost these mp3's for a while- I can't find a listen to them anywhere!

3:06 PM  

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