Well Song by The Nether Dawn

Released in 2009 on Porter Records. Heres the original blurb:
About the recording location of "Well Song"...
“The tracks on 'Well Song' were recorded in the autumn of 2007 and mark something of a departure for the Nether Dawn. Previous to this the records I have made under this name have all been recorded in the 'small hours'; the fleeting hazy hours between 11pm and dawn. I described The Nether Dawn as my 'midnight dorne blues' project.
There is a certain state that one reaches after sitting quietly for a time in dim light. Dream ecstasies seem to flicker impatiently in the corner of ones consiousness. When one picks up an instrument to play it is as though the voices that appear are not entirely of the waking world.
The base tracks on 'Well Song' were recorded in the dim light of an underground chamber. I have been making the steep trek up the hill to this collection of abandoned gun emplacements and bunkers (dating from an early 20th century paranoia of New Zealands potential invasion by the Tsars imperial Russian navy) for several years. It is a beautiful and lonely spot with a spectacular view that encompasses much of the southern reaches of the North Island. But what draws me back, laden down with acoustic and battery operated instruments, is the rich resonant acoustic properties of these man made caves. One cannot help but sing in such a place.”

- Antony Milton -


REVIEWS:

PROLIFIC NEW ZEALANDER ANTONY MILTON HAS A DOZEN OR MORE MUSICAL INCARNATIONS, RELEASING CDS, CD-RS AND LPS ON HIS OWN PSEUDOARCANA RECORD LABEL AS AM, BIRDCATCHER, GLORY FCKN SUN, PAPER WINGS, SUNKEN AND THE STUMPS, AMONG OTHERS. THE NETHER DAWN PROJECT MELDS DRONES WITH FREE IMPROV ACOUSTIC GUITAR TO CREATE LENGTHY ESSAYS IN STARK LIGHT AND SHADE.

WELL SONG WAS RECORDED IN A BUNKER ON NEW ZEALAND’S NORTH ISLAND. MILTON WAS ATTRACTED NOT ONLY BY THE SPECTACULAR VIEWS, BUT BY THE ECHOING QUALITY OF SOUNDS IN THE BUNKER’S CAVE-LIKE CONFINES. IT IS A VIRTUAL EXTRA INSTRUMENT, AND THE CAVERNOUS ECHO THAT ENROBES THESE FRACTURED DRONES IS A UNIFYING THREAD IN THE RECORDINGS.

AT ITS MOST COMPELLING THIS ALBUM RECALLS THE DREAM SYNDICATE RECORDINGS OF TONY CONRAD AND JOHN CALE. A TRACK LIKE “STILL WATCH THE SKY” OPENS WITH THE SLOWNESS OF FOG LIFTING FROM THE SHORE, LAYERS OF VIOLIN AND WASHES OF ELECTRONICS BUILDING INTO A PULSING, HYPNOTIC MACHINE. THERE’S A SIMILAR EBBING URGENCY TO THE INTENSE “STEP THROUGH THE NIGHT”, WHICH, DESPITE THE ECHO OF THE BUNKER, HAS A CLAUSTROPHOBIC CENTER WHERE MILTON HALF-SINGS, HALF-WHISPERS THE ALBUM’S ONLY LYRICS. ELSEWHERE HE PLAYS AN EXPRESSIVE, BRITTLE STYLE OF ACOUSTIC GUITAR, THRUSTING AND VIVID ON “RISE”, SPARSE AND DELICATE ON THE SOMNAMBULANT “FOOLS SWEET RAMBLE”. WHETHER PLAYING WITH SCRUBBED FIERCENESS OR THE LIGHTEST OF TOUCH, HIS GUITAR PLAYING MAKES THESE RECORDINGS STAND OUT AMONG THE MANY FREE FOLK DIRGES AROUND THESE DAYS.

NICK SOUTHGATE – WIRE MAGAZINE

Antony Milton is a sound artist based in Masterton, New Zealand. He has been active in the underground and experimental music scenes since the early 1990s. He is also the curator of the 'Another Sunday' series and the PseudoArcana label.

Another Sunday