David Darling - Cello (1992)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
David Darling - Journal October (1979)
David Darling - Cycles (1982)
Ketil Bjørnstad & David Darling - The River (1997)
Ketil Bjørnstad, David Darling, Terje Rypdal, & Jon Christensen - The Sea (1995) + The Sea II (1998)

Breathtaking ambient neoclassical pieces for cello from one of my favorites. Texturally lush layers of reverb-soaked cellos form weightless but dark masses of sound. You don't listen to Cello so much as you allow yourself to be submerged in it.

Track listing:
1. Darkwood
2. No Place Nowhere
3. Fables
4. Darkwood II
5. Lament
6. Two or Three Things
7. Indiana Indian
8. Totem
9. Psalm
10. Choral
11. The Bell
12. In November
13. Darkwood III

Shadows of the moon

You should also listen to:

Lisa Gerrard & Patrick Cassidy -
Immortal Memory (2004)

Zoe Keating -
One Cello x 16: Natoma (2005)

Peter Kater & R. Carlos Nakai - Migration (1992)

A collaboration between Native American musician R. Carlos Nakai and jazz pianist Peter Kater. Tranquil, meditative, piano-based compositions with cello (courtesy of David Darling), flute, saxophone, bone whistle, and some gorgeous vocal embellishments. Gets a bit syrupy at times, but highlights like "Stating Intention" are chill-inducing.

Track listing:
1. Wandering
2. Initiation
3. Honoring
4. Stating Intention
5. Surrender
6. Embracing the Darkness
7. Lighting the Flame
8. Transformation
9. Quietude
10. Becoming Human
11. Walking the Path
12. Service

Honorable sky

Ketil Bjørnstad & David Darling - The River (1997)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
David Darling - Journal October (1979)
David Darling - Cycles (1982)
Ketil Bjørnstad, David Darling, Terje Rypdal, & Jon Christensen - The Sea (1995) + The Sea II (1998)

A collection of twelve stark, emotive pieces for piano and cello.

Track listing:
The River I - XII

Silhouettes

David Darling - Cycles (1982)

To the five of you who care: Sorry I've been neglecting the ol' bloggy-blog. I have been spending my free time trying to finish recording what will be the first official album from my solo black metal project (of course I have a solo black metal project), and things like "writing half-assed blog posts about semi-obscure albums" have been pushed to the back-burner. OH NO.

But here I am, home, too tired to record, listening to some ECM, so, might as well slap together this incredible writeup. I've posted about cellist David Darling before; this is his second album, and it's definitely one of my all-time favorite ECM records. Saxophonist Jan Garbarek puts in a reliably sharp, emotive performance, and there's a little bit of sitar and tabla here and there, too, giving it a slightly exotic (ugh) feel. K, I'm done.

Track listing:
1. Cycle Song
2. Cycle One: Namaste
3. Fly
4. Ode
5. Cycle Two: Trio
6. Cycle Three: Quintet and Coda
7. Jessica's Sunwheel

Returning

Ketil Bjørnstad, David Darling, Terje Rypdal, & Jon Christensen - The Sea (1995) + The Sea II (1998)

Two albums of haunting, dynamic pieces for piano, guitar, cello, and percussion. Bjørnstad's fragile, stately piano themes serve as a base over which Rypdal's guitar soars and Darling's cello weeps, as Christensen (aka the drummer on almost every major ECM release) maintains a nervous tension throughout.

Track listing:
-The Sea-
Twelve tracks, Roman numerals I through XII
-The Sea II-
1. Laila
2. Outward Bound
3. Brand
4. The Mother
5. Song for a Planet
6. Consequences
7. Agnes
8. Mime
9. December
10. South

I
II

David Darling - Journal October (1979)

Darkly gorgeous debut album by American cellist David Darling. Arguably his finest collection, Journal October is a fully solo endeavor, most of which consists of lush, layered cellos, with some sparse percussive and vocal elements finding their ways onto a few tracks. While the album certainly contains many moments of pure, contented beauty, each track is permeated with a sense of restlessness and sorrow - the persistent chugging in "Slow Return"; the drawn-out, dissonant chords in "Clouds" - that grants Journal October greater emotional and sonic complexity than one might expect from an artist whose last album won the Grammy for Best New Age Album.

Track listing:
1. Slow Return
2. Bells and Gongs
3. Far Away Lights
4. Solo Cello
5. Minor Blue
6. Clouds
7. Solo Cello
8. Solo Cello and Voice
9. Journal October, Stuttgart

No place nowhere