New EP from her & her Spring 2021
Available as a digital download (watch out for the collectable limited edition CD - COMING SOON!)
Recorded in a deep underground space, a once watery vault beneath a retired Victorian pumping station in Nottinghamshire. Multi-instrumentalists her & her bring their orchestra of weird and wonderful instruments down to this dark, resonant environment and improvise with the beauty beneath… imparting its mysteries and magnificence to the earth above. The music is full of solace, rawness and emotional connection to another world
The original reservoir improvisations have been sensitively overlaid in the studio with additional scoring and atmospheric sound design
essence of calm
is the first EP in the 'Beauty Beneath' series.
The Journey So Far
July 2018: Notts gal Cydnei casually tunes in to Alan Clifford’s show on BBC Radio Nottingham. Her attention zones in at the mention of a vast and empty underground reservoir, located just up the road from her…with a jaw dropping, ear exploding EIGHT SECOND REVERB!! She decided the Victorian Pumping Station needed a visit from the mighty ‘her&her’ orchestra…an opportunity to explore exciting musical possibilities in the depths of the earth, and get in touch with their base chakras at the same time! Cydnei instantly made contact with Ashley, the friendly Museum Curator and her Essex gal comrade Catherine, who were both enthusiastic about the idea… a date was set. The magnificent reservoir welcomed a ‘her&her’ exploratory sound-check with open arms –WOW! The ‘hers’ realised at once that team member Richard (‘him’) would be desperate to join them for a recording session underground. Knowing ‘him’ so well – Richard immediately started researching battery operated recording gear to take down into the watery cavern.
August 2019: Fast forward to a hot, sultry summer’s day in Nottinghamshire. The team meet for a fun afternoon in this beautifully breath-taking site. Instruments and recording gear aplenty they ventured underground to improvise…just to see…
March 2020: COVID happened…but the team saw a glimmer of light with the 2019 Papplewick ‘play-day’ recordings. The idea of a compilation of conceptual EPs emerged. Once again ‘her&her’ joined forces with their studio magician Richard Kett - and together they set to work with enhancing the Papplewick raw material.
May 2021: The release of EP ‘Beauty Beneath: essence of calm’. ‘her&her’ invite you, the listener, to slow down and soak up the calming pace of this next 15 minutes of your life
In conversation with her & her and the creative process of ‘Beauty Beneath’
Cydnei
speaks about the Papplewick recording session
“Imagine a dark and damp atmosphere…a cool ambient 10 degrees below ground level…whilst above us was a blazing 30 degrees in bright sunshine. Using the self-imposed restriction of recording our improvisations 5 minutes at a time, inspiration flowed…and with stop watch in hand, we changed instruments and styles, creating a montage of moments - each with its own individual and fascinating character. We let our imaginations run free as we worked with the glorious 8-second echo. We built up extraordinary atmospheres with haunting melodic rhythms and textures…not forgetting to explore the effect of pausing and deep listening”
Catherine
speaks about the studio process
“Many months later in the studio with Richard, we continued with our recognisable style of ‘comprovisation’ (a mix of composing and improvisation). We began to work with the raw material of reverberating textures and haunting melodies, creating multi-layered lines that complimented the free, live nature of the source material. We experimented with overlaying new lines on our multifarious and unique orchestra of ‘objects that resonate’ (voices, clarinets, himalayan singing bowls, whirly tubes, drums, bells, koshi chimes, conch shells, saxophones, pitch pipes, autoharp…to name just a few)…mixed in with Richard’s atmospheric and subtle sound design”
AND FINALLY…
her & her answer a question from Janet (Catherine’s mum – famous for her Tribal Trance dancing!)
Janet: “Why a 15 minute EP my dears?”
her & her : “15 is a positive number…generally meaning healing and rest….we all need a bit of THAT!”
Album Teasers
Listen to clips from the her & her new EP
Beauty Beneath: essence of calm
'Beauty Beneath: essence of calm'
Track Listing
1. Tuning into the Ambience (0.52)
Settle in to absorb restorative, underground sounds as ‘her&her’ attune to the cool, dark space. Candles flicker as the only light, setting the scene for the duo to explore the world of slow resonance and vibration…
2. Fragile Darkness (3.54)
Colourful whirly tubes warm the air and hum an invitation… haunting saxophone and vocal notes surface in the dimly lit arena. The improvisation unfolds as the musicians begin to trust their new creative journey… a collaboration of sound and space
3. Other Worldly (0.32)
Singing bowls and chanting undulate together. A sense of retreating...gently floating in the water that once filled this enchanting underworld
4. Echoes of Memory (2.03)
Melodic shapes and shades appear in the darkness and bounce slowly around the damp, cavernous void. Ethereal woodwind and vocals expressing moments of warmth, tenderness and intimacy
5. Dueting in the Darkness (0.23)
Clarinets converse in mysterious antiphonal tones, descending amongst the dancing shadows. Step in to solitude and contemplation, embracing your whole self
6. Singing Vaults (3.01)
The exquisite cathedral-like resonance invites playful exploration of echoes created by a single voice. Accompanying this extemporisation is the celestial purity of a harp, and the holding reassurance of a low woodwind drone
7. Reflective Breath (0.29)
Conch and chalumeau join forces and resonate together, reminding us of our ancestral beginnings. Breathing life from the earth beneath that sustains us all
8. Droplets of Time (3.31)
A mellow bass clarinet groove warms the space, enticing a melodic journey to emerge…accompanied by the spirit of the reservoir, adding an occasional ‘splat-split’ of dripping water from the great arches
9. Awaken…to a nice cup of tea (0.15)
Spoken voice, laughter and the universal sound of peace call us back to the light
