Tag: Inside The Kingdom of Splendor and Madness

Swordfish Review of Inside The Kingdom Of Splendor And Madness

Posted by JUSTIN VELLUCCI on 

The cello weeps and sows and soars, and so it goes with Randall Holt and his Inside The Kingdom of Splendor and Madness, which gets the CD/cassette re-release treatment April 20 from Self Sabotage Records.

Holt, an accomplished cellist, traffics in the kind of moody, cinematic, classical soundscapes that oft define Godspeed You! Black Emperor, which is appropriate, given the fact that the Austin-ian has collaborated with the Montreal-based collective. But while GY!BE’s song-suites also depend on Efrim Menuck’s saw-buzzing guitars or epic, throttling crescendos, Holt’s compositions on Kingdom are trembling, naked things – cello snapshots where even the percussion, if it could be called that, is provided by strings.

Holt is no experimentalist, however, in the vein of Alder & Ash, whose addictive, pedal looped strings belie angst and penitence. Holt is mournful, somber, to a T – ethereal, funereal. His compositions would do justice to a black-and-white film exploring the underbelly of the open road, or an abandoned mill, or a scorched forest. His work is melancholy and steeped in a longing kind of nostalgia, with the occasional Romanticism giving way to the nuanced post-classical flourishes explored by the likes of the violist Christian Frederickson, whose work fits alongside this well.

The songs themselves show a great range of narratives, even if their palate is drawn from similar shapes and colors. “What Hope We Have, What Hope We Haven’t” is slow, meditative and struck with dread, and all-too-perfectly titled. “Labyrinths (and other writings),” on the other hand, has moments that are mathier, more Calculus-minded. Think the b/Bridges of High Plains and you’ll see what I mean.

The real gem on the nine-track disc, though, is most definitely its opener, the gray “I felt safe again and was at home,” which, in addition to swelling tides of timed, moaning cello, has a leading “solo” and harmonic language that are simply devastating. Like Schnittke’s string quartets, it speaks to the heart as much as the head, but, when it speaks to the heart, it simply destroys it. An excellent point of entry for an inviting journey, one I hope we travel together again. – Justin Vellucci, Popdose, April 11, 2018

Raised By Gypsies Review of Randall Holt “Inside The Kingdom Of Splendor And Madness”

Cassette Review:
Randall Holt
“Inside the Kingdom of Splendor and Madness”
(Self Sabotage Records)

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Though there are musicians out there who play the cello, I’m not sure anyone plays it quite like Randall Holt.   While I often hear a cello accompany another instrument, it is somewhat unusual for it to be the only instrument for an entire cassette (Though I know there are cellists out there, they just seem to outnumber even rock bands for example)  Throughout this cassette, Randall Holt takes the music from deep, dark sadness to the movie score of something out of either “Lord Of The Rings” or the suspense of an Alfred Hitchcock movie but not at the same time.

In a lot of ways, you expect to hear this type of instrument with other instruments.   It wouldn’t be a surprise to see “Randall Holt (cellist) + Other Musician (flute or whatever)” somewhere down the line, but the fact is these songs stand so well on their own.  As listeners of music we can become conditioned to want to hear things louder, fuller and more powerful but even with a cello these qualities are all in these songs.  What I’m getting at is that you might think a cello would be boring or get that way after a while- by itself- but Randall Holt makes it work on this cassette and it’s amazing.

One of the aspects I find so fascinating here as well is that this has more of a true classical sound than most other cellists I can think of in a modern sense.   I feel like the artist usually takes the instrument and turns it in something weird, something like noise and so it can have this feeling where it doesn’t even sound like a string instrument anymore.  Randall Holt sticks to the roots of the cello though and it gives it that type of classical feel I believe even my dad would enjoy (And he really only listens to classical music, talk radio and Bob Dylan)

“Inside the Kingdom of Splendor and Madness” was originally released in 2016 but is just now getting released on cassette by Self Sabotage.   I think this speaks volumes towards both cassettes and music in general, in the sense that if this wasn’t given a cassette release some two years later I might have never heard of it and that would be a shame.   What’s more is that this album simply has the credit: “Randall Holt — cello”  That’s all.  No one else.  Nothing else.   When was the last time you saw something like that because I bet when you did it didn’t feel this powerful, this full of life.

Posted by at 9:35 AM 

Ghost Cult Mag Exclusive Stream of New Randall Holt Single

EXCLUSIVE TRACK PREMIER: Randall Holt – I Felt Safe Again And Was At Home

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Austin Texas-based classical and experimental cellists, Randall Holt may not be a household name to some, but fans of underground music surely have heard his work. In addition to being a member of a member of Knest (with Thor Harris & Jonathan Horne) and Horne + Holt. Randall has also played in Reverend Glasseye, and collaborated with Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Yann Tiersen, Eric McFadden Trio and jazz composer Adam Rudolph. Having released his current album (digital only) in March 2016, Inside The Kingdom of Splendor and Madness on Self Sabotage Records, next week will see the release of the album on cassette and compact disc. To celebrate Ghost Cult has teamed up with this important artist to bring you his new single, ‘I Felt Safe Again And Was At Home’.

Pre-order:http://selfsabotagerecords.bigcartel.com/product/randall-holt-inside-the-kingdom-of-splendor-and-madness

Personnel:

Randall Holt — cello

Recorded, mixed and produced by Chico Jones at Ohm Recording Facility, Austin TX

Mastered by Jerry Tubb at Terra Nova Digital Audio, Austin TX

Photo by Renate Winter

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2016 Self Sabotage Records