Artist: Various Artists
Label: tonefloat records
Release: 2010
Length: 42:51
Rating: 4.4/5
tf100 isn’t exactly your usual compilation, the kind we so often write off as pointless or even bad. Nor is it the sort of compilation that covers one specific body of work, whether a band’s or a label’s/scene’s/genre’s from a certain period. tf100 by the label tonefloat is a one-off album, put together ad hoc by a bunch of the label’s roster artists. They made it for the label’s jubilee 100th release. And the group of musicians who got together for this feat is simply outstanding. But first, a few more words about tonefloat itself.
Tonefloat is a label that devotes most of its time and money to putting out so-called hi-end, meaning exceptionally high-quality vinyl records by chosen artists. They’re supposedly picked on the basis of some genre orientation too, but it’s very loose and often completely ignored when new »protégés« are chosen – in quotation marks because tonefloat mostly releases only a select slice of an artist’s discography. To give you a better picture, I’ll name a few: Steven Wilson and his projects (Porcupine Tree, No-Man, Bass Communion, Blackfield…), Anja Garbarek, Sand Snowman, Fear Falls Burning, Henry Cow, King Crimson, Robert Fripp, Theo Travis and so on. The roster is exceptional, to say the least. Now imagine that, for a special occasion put on by the label, a handful of these musicians join forces and make the aforementioned ad hoc album. Technically it’s classified as a kind of compilation, but it’s far from being one. It could easily stand as an album in its own right, since it feels coherent and polished and, most importantly, sounds exceptionally good.
The musicians who gathered for tf100 are: Sand Snowman, Theo Travis, Steven Wilson, Moonswift, Dirk Serries, Peter van Vliet and Maarten van der Vleuten. Most of the mixing was of course done by Steven Wilson, but every single musician had a hand in the production. The album came out together with a 109-page booklet about the label itself and what it did over its first 100 releases. Despite its unusual one-off nature, the project was taken extremely seriously. What’s more – the musicians took the jubilee to heart, found a kind of inspiration in the label’s very purpose and created an outstanding album. With names like these, anything less would have been hard to expect anyway.
The label itself champions musicians who build their music on creating a kind of transcendental mood, who try to show off their virtuosity through the listener’s emotions (as opposed to fast-fingered »guitar heroes«), so tf100 is likewise an album of emotions and mental nirvana. Steven Wilson, who appears on »like charcoal«, »trevail«, »california falling«, »pale ghostlike friend« and »song for john fahey« (so five tracks out of seven), is already an established name in ambient forms of music anyway, which he proved above all with his projects Bass Communion and IEM, and elements of that kind of music are always present in his work regardless. Sand Snowman, with his psychedelic albums showcasing all his guitar virtuosity and an incredible fingerpicking technique, has already proven himself a master of creating melancholic, dark atmospheres. Theo Travis is another name who hardly needs introducing – a brilliant woodwind player who, besides an extensive solo career, has worked with quite a few musicians (Steven Wilson, David Sinclair, Anja Garbarek, the bands Karmakanic, Gong and so on), and he fits that duo like an orchestra fits the music of Pink Floyd. Add various musicians who have a handle on the electronic side of modern music-making to that trio, and the result can’t disappoint. In fact, tf100 comes somewhat close to the album by Wilson’s project Storm Corrosion, only it’s not as gloomy. This is atmospheric nirvana, musical therapy for mental illness, a psychotic-yet-calm world built out of sound. Just picture it – Steven Wilson’s voice, his guitar weaving with Sand Snowman’s, complemented by Theo Travis’s gentle, gorgeous flute and soothing electronic sounds whispering in the background. A recipe for an ambient peak.
And tf100 is exactly that. The peak of ambient music. Music that seems to have no firm footing, whether in content or in theory and genre, that just floats and spreads and stretches, yet never rises above the feel of a whisper and gentle talk. It murmurs quietly to the listener’s ear, sinks them into its loose abstraction and doesn’t let go – the listener doesn’t even resist. And if you take into account that this is an ad hoc album, where the musicians didn’t have much time to create… that says it all about their genius and musical virtue, which few possess with such heart and sincerity.
Line-up
sand snowman – acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, percussion, harmonium
theo travis – flute, clarinet
steven wilson – vocals, electric guitar, mellotron, bass guitar, theremin, harp, violin
moonswift – vocals, guitars, bass guitar,
dirk serries – electric guitar
peter van vliet – vocals, keyboards, drum programming, acoustic guitar
maarten van der vleuten – voice, keyboards, programming
Production
tf100
Tracklist
01. like charcoal (9:08)
02. trevail (1:28)
03. california falling (4:26)
04. pale ghostlike friend (3:59)
05. through the eyes of the duck (2:47)
06. song for john fahey (11:19)
07. murmlefish (9:36)
