AMULETS - Sierra Highs

A Closer Listen 0

Want to do something good in the new year ~ to make a difference, and in so doing, receive some lovely music?  Do you have a dollar?  We know how to put it to good use.  AMULETS’ new EP is part of the Malindza Refugee Camp Library project run by Ryan Hall of Heligator Records.  It’s been a while since we checked in, but the project is still going strong.  Only a year ago, a couple children were killed in a fire, but the latest update is more positive, as the library (which last year served as a spillover location for the refugee camp) has just added shelves and lighting.

The most creative funding source for the library is a series of donated singles and EPs (now up to #26!).  These are often too short to review, but the latest entry is just perfect.  Sierra Highs is a 13-minute track that’s all shimmer and shine, an aural reflection of sun on desert snow.  A light Midwestern tone graces the piece, thanks to the guitar work of Austin’s Randall Taylor.  His meditative melodic lines are laid across a bed of drones and loops, which feature a bit of static, a bit of reverb, and a whole lot of build.  Four minutes into the piece, a new drone line takes the piece to a higher level, and is soon joined by an even brighter guitar.  By the end, one feels as if one has ascended a mountain without any exertion.  It’s the perfect piece for a brief meditation: musing about the new year, the passage of time, the distance traveled and the distance still to come.  If the peace it produces results in even a little bit of human kindness, then all the better.  Our best to Hall and the continuing efforts of the Malindza Refugee Camp in 2016 and beyond.  (Richard Allen)

Fri May 27 00:00:00 GMT 2016