Nick Storring pours himself into his music. In the literal sense, his compositions are realized by layering his own playing of a plethora of instruments; figuratively, his music is imbued by a sense of introspection and intimacy. His work is deeply personal, and this inwardness is reflected onto the listener as they enjoy Storring's carefully crafted works. One gets lost in these sounds.
My Magic Dreams Have Lost Their Spell is the first Storring effort to be sealed onto wax, and it's clear that he chose his most accomplished music to be realized in the vinyl format. These tracks were composed, recorded and assembled over a four-year period, during which the composer painstakingly employed an innumerable array of acoustic and electromechanical instruments with minimal interference from electronics.
Each piece is like a Ukrainian pysanka, an ornate batik-patterned work of art that is crafted by the repeated layering of design elements. This is evinced as "Tides That Defeat Identity" wafts into focus. A short piano motif is carried along on a cloud of percussion until Storring's cello, his primary instrument, storms out front amidst a sea of horns. There are so many subtle elements at play that the listener's focus is constantly flitting about like a monarch butterfly in a field of milkweed.
Storring has dedicated this album to soul singer Roberta Flack, yet the homage is more one of sentiment than sonics. The composer calls out Flack's "profound emotion and consummate musicality as a vocalist" and "brilliant curatorial mind," as well as her "air of intimacy and contemplation." He's brilliantly captured all of these elements while retaining his own singular vision to create a dreamlike world that is uniquely engaging.
(Orange Milk)My Magic Dreams Have Lost Their Spell is the first Storring effort to be sealed onto wax, and it's clear that he chose his most accomplished music to be realized in the vinyl format. These tracks were composed, recorded and assembled over a four-year period, during which the composer painstakingly employed an innumerable array of acoustic and electromechanical instruments with minimal interference from electronics.
Each piece is like a Ukrainian pysanka, an ornate batik-patterned work of art that is crafted by the repeated layering of design elements. This is evinced as "Tides That Defeat Identity" wafts into focus. A short piano motif is carried along on a cloud of percussion until Storring's cello, his primary instrument, storms out front amidst a sea of horns. There are so many subtle elements at play that the listener's focus is constantly flitting about like a monarch butterfly in a field of milkweed.
Storring has dedicated this album to soul singer Roberta Flack, yet the homage is more one of sentiment than sonics. The composer calls out Flack's "profound emotion and consummate musicality as a vocalist" and "brilliant curatorial mind," as well as her "air of intimacy and contemplation." He's brilliantly captured all of these elements while retaining his own singular vision to create a dreamlike world that is uniquely engaging.
