Harold Nono – We’re Almost Home (Album – Bearsuit Records)
Genre/Influences: Experimental, cinematographic.
Format: Digital, CD.
Background/Info: Scottish Harold Nono released the first album ever on Bearsuit Records. We’re now eighteen years later and Harold Nono has unleashed its fifth full length featuring thirteen new songs.
Content: The universe of this artist is hard to seize, but always resulted from a kind of ‘free style’. The work is totally experimental-driven although always close to cinematographic compositions. From controlled chaos to orchestral arrangements, most of the songs sound improvised. I sometimes recognize distant jazz influences, but here again it comes closer to collecting multiple influences instead of belonging to an established music style.
+ + + : If you like experimental music and improvisation, this album will definitely has something to offer. Is it industrial jazz or an abstract soundtrack? I’m not sure even the artist himself knows what it is. Several guest musicians contributed to the work by adding classic instruments such as cello, saxophone, trombone, flute, trumpet… which reinforce the soundtrack sensation of the album.
– – – : This music is hardly accessible, but maybe not that much when becoming part of a wider project or concept featuring a visual content.
Conclusion: Harold Nono remains a very single experience in sound, but that’s probably why it’s labeled ‘experimental’! The kind of music you’re not used to hearing every day.
Best songs: “The Gurney Trips”, “The Shout”.
Rate: (5½).
Artist: www.facebook.com/haroldnono
Label: https://bearsuitrecords.webs.com / www.facebook.com/bearsuitrecords
About Harold Nono
Harold Nono is an experimental artist based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His debut album was the first release ever issued by Bearsuit Records, and “We’re Almost Home”, reviewed here, is his fifth full length, arriving eighteen years later with thirteen new songs and guest contributions on cello, saxophone, trombone, flute and trumpet.
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