Tiny Leaves - Mynd

A Closer Listen

The greatest asset of Mynd is its specificity.  The field recordings that run throughout the album were made in the Shropshire countryside (U.K.) while enjoying a residency with the National Trust at the Long Mynd, declared an Area of Outstanding Beauty.  We’re a bit jealous of this opportunity, as it includes the Burway Loop (look at those sheep!) and the shorter but no less stunning Lightspout Waterfall Walk.  This unspoiled area is one of the last remaining refuges, although in order to keep it pristine, it must also gain funds from tourism: thousands of visitors each week.  Joel Pike (Tiny Leaves) captures the sounds of the area and works them into his own compositions, or the other way around, the sounds of mountains and valleys suggesting the notes.

The human element is first heard on the transition from”Wern” to “Portway,” as human steps are clearly audible.  Pike – a multi-instrumentalist – is joined here by Faith Brackenbury on violin and viola, and together they grant the music a pastoral elegance that befits the wide rolling hills and landscapes of green.  Pike’s famous piano is held back until “Long Mynd Snow,” which settles the listener down, like a hiker taking a break on the rocks.  Pike wants us to hear the preserve, but he also wants us to feel it.

A ten-mile walk is strenuous on even ground, even more so on uneven terrain.  Mynd can mean go out or travel, but it comes from the Norse word meaning shape or form.  In “Lower Valley,” we can hear the people who have made the trip.  They seem both excited and agitated, but there’s nothing like a near-jig to calm the spirits and prompt courage.  This is the guided tour, but we imagine Pike wandering the routes on his own, recorder in hand, seeking instants of solitude and awe.  If birds sing, why not the trees themselves?  Can sheep, strings and streams make sounds in harmony?  In “Ascent from New Pool Hollow,” Pike finds a way.

Local avian musicians often take the lead.  On “Mynd Plateau, Arrival,” the thunder rolls and the rain begins to fall, but the birds chirp over both wind and the wind chimes, providing one of the album’s standout moments.  Not that they are ever far from the mike; in the center of “Runner, Messenger ii,” one imagines a duet, even though it’s likely a studio creation.  David Rothenburg would be proud.

When English-language speakers hear mynd, they think mind, and in this case, mindfulness.  By celebrating the flora and fauna of The Long Mynd, Pike may prompt even more tourists to visit – not necessarily a bad thing.  But more than that, the combination of field recordings and music prompts one to locate their own local Area of Outstanding Beauty, to settle in and listen, and if necessary, to preserve.  (Richard Allen)