Daniel Holliday has already moved on from this August-released CD of studio minimalism to a project he calls PICTUREVILLE.
Given the quiet and unassuming patience of the music under the MOTODESTRA tag that seems a little precipitate. But never mind. Focus on the DANIEL HOLLIDAY name and the West Yorkshire location, and pay some attention. The musical links between the two projects are strong and it's hard to see how interest in the one wouldn’t be equally satisfied by a listen to the other.
The nine constructed pieces on this CD are emotionally cool and simply arithmetical. They add up to just over 40 minutes of gentleness. The development is linear rather than exponential. Nothing soars away in to euphoria but the mood is optimistic, quiet and balanced. The direction is clear and anyone with a troubled mind with find solace and balance here.
The general approach is to trail a short melodic phrase or two across cleanly played guitar arpeggios. Harmonic shifts are slight and the loops are short. Synthesiser and drum sounds are added modestly and gradually. Impatient or over attentive listening simply won't work. You could describe it as mood music for thoughtful people who have become weary of thinking and tired by worrying. It might be best to listen in a peripheral away while doing something that absorbs but doesn’t trouble or over-stimulate you.
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The fourth track "Golden Arc" stands out, with more texture in the guitar and a haunting potential that throws out open spaces for the imagination or a great singer to fill right up. "Oceanique" adds a little ambient coastal sound to the basic mix. Right at the end "New Forest" evokes the sifting light of woodland with guitar layers and a glockenspiel sound that move gently across each other. With opening track "Firefly and Me" it surrounds the twos and fours of the rest of the album in lightly dancing threes and sixes. Elegant.
www.motodestra.com
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