Beautiful modern composition from LA's prolific Sean McCann and En/Root Strata's San Fran-based Maxwell August Croy. Their first collaboration, 'I' feels timlessly enigmatic, drawing on a wealth of aesthetic and compositional tropes from their respective oeuvres to synthesise something wholly new and uniquely engaging, weaving the exotic timbres of Croy's koto and McCann's keening string arrangements in a sound that defies easy categorization. Beaming forth with the flurry of strings and breezing wind instruments of 'Parting Light (Suite)' they expand upon a sweeping sound with the vaulted harmonic overtones of 'Alexandria' and more intimate, folk-wise styles in the slow, rustic sashay of 'Momiji', before taking to the placid, meditative space of 'The Inlet Arc' and the lushly soured Eastern strings of 'Hollow Pursuits' nodding to classical Korean music as much as Taj Mahal Travellers, Gavin Bryars and Richard Skelton.
Maxwell August Croy: koto. Sean McCann: violin, cello. Recorded and Mixed Winter 2012 - Spring 2013 in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Includes digital download code.