THOM BRENNAN – MOUNTAINS (1987)
Thom Brennan is an ambient musician from Texas who I learnt about through the radio system on the website www.last.fm. When I first heard his tracks I was immediately attracted to them. What I was hearing was perfect ambient music at its finest, done purely on synthesizers. After a few sporadic listens of several tracks spanning across his music career, I decided to go ahead and order his first release, an album called MOUNTAINS which was released back in 1987. I was drawn to the title obviously because of my interest in mountains; having just finished the collaborative album ‘The Eight-Thousanders’ on The Ambient Collective, I was eager to hear another musician’s interpretation.
The tape arrived on a stormy afternoon, and I had just returned from the last day of college for the summer on the bus and had got quite wet travelling home. I found it on the table when I went in and unwrapped it, knowing immediately what it was. I headed upstairs into my bedroom, took off my wet clothes, put my dressing gown on and sat down to examine it, with rain still pouring down outside my window and the occasional sound of thunder in the clouds.
The first thing I did was examine the tape itself and checked for any damage. It was second-hand after all, but the only thing I found was that someone hadn’t rewound properly and had left it in the middle. Whilst it wound back to the beginning I examined the artwork and liner notes, something I always do before listening. I do this to get a feel for the album and build up the suspense and expectations. I looked at the track list on the back, which was presented with the running times of each one, something I always like to see, especially on tape cassettes which often have no time dials, unlike nearly all digital media these days. I also noticed in the credits that Steve Roach played a part in the production of this album, remixing and digitally mastering the music at his studio ‘The Time Room’. Now Steve Roach has become a dominant figure in the ambient music scene, and is well known for what he does. Having a person of such stature involved on this album instilled a sense in me that this album must be good. So without waiting another minute, I put on the headphones and pressed play.
The first track on this release is called GREEN RIVER PASSAGE, and this stands as a suitable opening to the album. It’s calm and gentle with quiet tinkling bell sounds running throughout, a subconscious contemplation to the weather outside. Soft floating synth sounds flow in, on a gentle repeat to join the tinkling sounds. The feelings it evokes at this early point are of expectation, or preparation for what is to come. Having heard some of the tracks already on the internet, I indeed knew already what was coming, but I had not heard this one. Some people may say this spoils the experience – perhaps it does for some people, but for me, looking back in reflection, I was thinking of how well this first track fits in to it all. I think that all albums should begin with a quiet track, to prepare the listener for the others, so this was a good opener for me.
Soon some more elements enter into the track: what sound like high pitched guitar plucks on a reverb, which slowly get more and more excessive as the track progresses. They are also joined by a deeper sound, more sparsely spread out than the others, but they add to the atmosphere perfectly.
I tried to relate the music to the track title, of moving slowly down a river in a green valley towards the empty glaciers of the mountain passes ahead. Those tinkling sounds could be sunlight dancing on the river surface, or from glimmering ice perhaps.
The
whole
thing flows quite nicely, with these synths and
plucks on repeat, appearing once and then dying away, only to
reappear
again a
few seconds later. Soon they are accompanied by even more synths
which
start in
the background and soon take over the position of the plucks,
and the
whole
thing becomes much denser than it was at the beginning. It
continues
for a
while still, before slowly becoming sparser again, but the track
finishes and
fades out before it can return to the calmness of the first
minute, so
you’re
not left back where you started; you’ve certainly moved on. And
indeed
you
have for the second track is starting.
The second track on the release is called INCENSE AND RAIN. This one is quite gentle like the preceding track, with more tinkling sounds and synths, but this time there is a rhythm involved, making the track appear to be that little but faster than the first. This rhythm is continuous throughout the track, and it begins quietly with a droning note in the background. More elements soon join in to create a landscape of synths along with the bell rhythm always present.
Small percussive sounds are also present, adding another aspect to the rhythm. When I listen to this track, it makes me think about time, as for me it creates an image of ancient clocks. I said this to myself when I first heard it, and got a real feeling of the passage of time as I listened. Whether it will have this effect on other listeners I do not know, but it is certainly an experience to enjoy.
The synths do most of the work in this track, with the rhythm itself continuing mostly unchanged underneath. But this is by no means a boring track, for the sounds created by the synths really conjure up an image of mountains for me. They are still quite far, but leaving the green river passage of the preceding track has brought us out into the open, bringing us one step closer to the goal.
Trying to relate to the track title again, I imagine sitting in a mountain temple looking out of the window at the gentle rainfall coming down outside, with these eponymous mountains in the distance, obscured by mist and clouds. The album lists on the back that the tracks are a remembrance of temples and shores on an island in the East China Sea, so this would make sense for this track, and also the next one as well.
But the rhythm on this track is truly hypnotising. I find myself whistling it later in the day after having heard it, and it certainly stays in my head long enough to create a lasting image. The synths are powerful as well, because for me, the best way to create atmospheres is through the use of drones, and there are certainly plenty of these in this track. There’s also a feeling of mystery present in this track as well, because even though the atmospheres are vivid, you still don’t quite know what’s going on. Perhaps this is the image the artist was trying to create in this music, as I’m sure, the concepts and practises of these far Eastern cultures that have kept themselves hidden and secluded, isolated from the modern world, would seem somewhat mysterious to a visiting Westerner. You sit quietly and observe these ancient ceremonies, understanding their significance to the people involved, but completely lost in its meaning.
Now we come to track 3, THE BURNING TEMPLE. This is certainly the most percussive song of the album, with a solid drumming rhythm, but at only just over three minutes long, it’s also the shortest. This was one of the tracks I had heard before on the Internet, and had quite liked the sound of it.
Alongside the drum rhythm is a riff from what sounds like an electric guitar, and more percussive sounds that have a metallic ring to them. More drones and synths accompany this track, but are less pronounced than in the others, and sit in the background whilst the rhythm and the riff take centre stage.
When I first heard this song, I really did visualise a burning temple. Maybe this is the one we stayed in during the previous track? What has happened?
The percussion on this track is intense and almost tribal, which without a doubt makes this the fastest track on the album. When the percussion dies away, it makes me feel sad because this is only a short track, and I feel there should have been more. Maybe this drumming symbolises the fleeing from the flames, and it stops and the track ends with a short electronic melody which is similar to the drum rhythm, perhaps as you reach the safety of the hill and look back at the smouldering remains. You are no longer running, but trying to catch your breath and escape the heat. Quite vivid.
This track merges directly into the fourth and final track on side A, HABU VALLEY. This was a nice surprise for me, as I’d heard this track before as well, but they’d been the separate digital versions on completely different days, so to hear them nicely fade into one another was quite special. This must have been the work of Steve Roach.
Habu Valley is similar to track 2, with a repetitive chiming bell rhythm accompanied by synths and a fast but quiet ticking sound like a clock. But this one created less of an image of time, but more of an image of greenery and plant life, situated amongst rocks and trees in a lush valley. Maybe this is the sanctuary we escaped to after fleeing the burning temple?
Well, whatever happened to that temple, it is of no matter now, for this track carries a happy feeling and a sense of hope for the traveller. The valley is misty, but sparse sunbeams penetrate the low clouds and illuminate the flowers in the grass. Choral synths enter into the song which creates for me a divine element, and brings forth peace into this land you are standing in. But there is also a feeling that something may not seem right, and this becomes evident about two minutes before the end, when it quietens down a little, tricking you into thinking the track will end soon, but there is still a little more to come.
This is a medium-speed track, but after hearing The Burning Temple, it may seem much slower. This song continues for seventy seconds longer than track 2, making it the longest track on side A. But that time seems to pass quickly if you allow yourself to be hypnotised by that bell rhythm.
There isn’t much more I can say about this track; listening to it can explain more than I can here. I’ve done the best I can to summarise the first half of this release, but what comes next is the greatest of them all.
By the time the first four tracks had ended, the rain outside had stopped but there was still the occasional thunder. This created a whole new atmosphere for the final track; the dark clouds really set the scene.
The whole of side B is taken up by the epic eponymously titled track of the album, which lasts for over 27 minutes. I was excited when it began.
For the first few minutes you are presented with a wall of synths, that really create the atmosphere for you; the sounds are so intimidating and when you hear them it feels as if you really are standing at the foot of a towering mountain, looking upwards towards the clouds that hide the summit. These synths contain what I’m going to call The Mountains Riff, which is a short melody which appears multiple times throughout this mighty piece of music. There’s a sense of sadness in this piece, and a feeling of immense awe, reflecting the age and dominance of these mountains. Only a few minutes in, and I knew this was going to be an amazing track; this was what I was waiting for; a monumental piece of music that creates such a powerful image.
After these synths begin to die down, a haunting rhythm enters which sounds almost orchestral, and very dramatic. But after a few seconds, the synths launch back in over the top, expanding on The Mountains Riff I mentioned earlier. This rhythm must last for a good twelve minutes, maybe even longer, but it just seems infinite if you just lay back and listen. This is something you can never get tired of. This mountain you were looking up at a minute ago has drawn you in, and you are now trying to scale the side of it to reach the top.
The rhythm continued endlessly, which more elaborate synths constantly sweeping in from all angles, just like the wind seems to on these high peaks. I feel a sense of wonder in this track which just encapsulates the listener, especially if you’re listening with headphones like I was. If you share the same appreciation for mountains as I do, then you will most undoubtedly find this track a mesmerising journey. It’s got a real Himalayan feel to it, the home of highest mountains, or maybe the Karakoram where some of the most impressive mountain scenery in the world is located.
The endless orchestral rhythm really brings forth a sense of climbing; it lasts so long, just like the journey to the top does. The Mountains Riff comes back and forth again and again, reminding you of when you stood at the bottom and felt that immense awe of the mountain above you. It returns to haunt you, and reminds you of just how big this mountain is.
But the rhythm is most powerful as the synths peter out, and it stands by itself. But there isn’t much time to enjoy it as more droning metallic synths close in around you, like clouds blanketing the scenery and obscuring your vision of the surroundings. The rhythm itself begins to mute down, slowing until it disappears, until you are left only with these new synths, completely alone. The ascent soon draws to a halt, as you realise there is nothing now you can do; you’re stuck on the mountainside and no one can see you stuck in these thick clouds.
It’s an eerie feeling represented quite well by these synths, and you soon begin to fall into the depths of your own mind, thinking to yourself while you wait for an idea. This is a small chance to rest, but it doesn’t make you feel any better. The mood lightens a little and becomes less frightening as the track progresses, but it’s still pretty lonesome. It’s mysterious too, as it becomes more ethereal and blurred. Maybe this could relate to the feeling mountaineers get when they reach high altitudes and begin to experience clouded and irrational thoughts as the amount of oxygen to the brain slowly decreases.
Then The Mountains Riff appears again through the mist, giving you hope and bringing you back to your mission. The riff is slower though, and is performed with different synths to those that first performed it. But then what follows seems like a moment of realisation, and that immortal rhythm makes a return, louder than ever and at a higher tempo. The climb continues.
More ethereal synths fade in, and the background now becomes one big smeared drone, compared to earlier when it was alive with melodies and The Mountains Riff. The synths that performed the riff earlier in the track return, but these too are now ethereal and have no distinct melody or tune. Now it’s just pure emotion on the go.
But the track goes no further from this point, as it starts to fade out and come to an end. The whole thing fades away into the left stereo channel and comes to silence. Is that it? Unfortunately it is. The story being told in this track has been left unfinished, but it was quite a journey.
Musically speaking, it was just about everything a good piece of music could be. It had a worthy introduction, a pulsing body, a quiet point, and then an epic climax. This is certainly my favourite track on the album, and it is a fine way to finish after those first four tracks.
So all in all, a great album, and great way to spend fifty five minutes after a rainstorm. I would recommend this album to anyone who is fond of vivid ambient music and mountains. The tape cassette is quite hard to find, and you’ll have more luck trying to purchase one of the CD re-releases, which may not only be more suited to the modern digital age we live in, but will also give you an extra track or two. Some of the original tracks are edited in length to accommodate them all onto the disc, but you should still get your money’s worth.
As an added bonus, this album is good to listen to whilst reading THE EVEREST YEARS by Chris Bonington, a famous mountain climber. I did this and the two went very nicely together. A worthy combination.
