SoD-36/37

Peter Wright "At Last a New Dawn"

Audio Clip


"At Last a New Dawn" is a double disc set of truly epic proportions. It constitutes 
the first new recordings by Peter Wright released to CD since 2004's "Yellow
 Horizon," and is, without a doubt, a radiant high point, perhaps even the
 pinnacle, of his distinguished and exceptional discography. All of the familiar
 and wonderous Wright touchstones are present here in pristine form: a wealth
 of gorgeous, ghostly guitar drones and swells, and impeccably employed
 field recordings from manifold fascinating sources. Also worth noting is the
 emergence of some slightly harsher sounds found here, a divergence from the
 traditionally pastoral nature of much of Wright's catalog. This is reflective of
 Peter's current live setup, which employs increased overdrive and distortion.

The album's title is, Peter asserts, a 'vauge reference to undying optimism in the
face of gloom.' Many of the track titles too reflect a contemplation of death, pain,
loss and tragedy. In fact, one of the tracks, 'Blue Light District,' was recorded on
July 7th, 2005, the morning of the London terrorist attacks, its title referencing the 
rash of emergency vehicles swarming throughout the city in the wake of the violence.

This is the sound of misery and death, and ultimately, of hope and redemption.


2xCD
(ltd. 500)

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$20ppd World















Praise for other Peter Wright releases

"Wright's use of field recordings - birds singing, crowds milling about, someone's
 old granny discussing her respiratory ailments - create very specific effects of time,
 space, and place that make Red Lion a pretty transportational listening experience.
On "Blue Ridge," Wright sounds like he's knocking small boats against a dock, just
 long enough to make you turn up your collar. Then he introduces lonely guitar chords
 pierced by static-blurred feedback needles and the environment shrinks, awareness
 sharpens, it's time to sit down...By interspersing reflective, candle-in-a-dark-room vibes
 with moments of sunset-glimpsed-through-the-storm beauty, Peter Wright has fashioned
 a record to be reckoned with." -Dusted Magazine on "Red Lion" (Digitalis)

On “Distant Bombs,” Wright takes guitars, and runs them through various effects to
 extract their lulling essence in a rich, clear broth. Sometimes the sounds are taped and
 looped which further erodes their sharp edges. Everything here is assembled with the
 care and attention of a master craftsman. The drones achieve hypnotic calm through
 constant shifting of each component in relation to the others rather than microtonal variations
 on a dominant one. Figure and ground alternate as Wright brings different motifs to the
 foreground only to recede in subtle shifts in dynamics. It is as if Wright had realized the
 common threads that run through all of the disparate elements he worked with and
 coaxed them together to converge at a distant vanishing point. To emphasize this journey,
 most of the tracks begin with varied sources (anything from acoustic guitar or violin, to
 what sounds like a processed field recording if the ocean) that coalesce in layers into
 powerfully assured drones over their course." -Foxy Digitalis on"Distant Bombs" (LVD)

"Peter Wright is one of New Zealand’s most rewarding artists. His early recordings,
 released under a plethora of names via the kRkRkRk and Apoplexy labels, saw the
 artist stretching his limbs and trying out various approaches to sculpting sound. 
Wright recorded Yellow Horizon and Desolation Beauty Violence in May and June of
 2003, just after his relocation to London. They capture his work in transitional mode,
 adjusting to new climes by refining his vision. Wright’s more assured guiding hand lends
 these pieces an elegant and refined tenor.On both discs, Wright feeds a Danelectro
 12-string guitar through effects, turning the instrument’s wood-and-string interface into
 an abstract machine, flaking melodies and phrases from the guitar and blurring them into
 massive blocks of choral sound. On Yellow Horizon, he strings eight foggy compositions
 together to form a tribute to his South Island home. “Offa’s Dyke” ruminates on a small
 clutch of notes that smear into each other, a huge haze of gaseous texture. The title track
 strings siren notes over a deep, resonating pulse. The result recalls Roy Montgomery’s
 “Twilight Conversation” from his own tribute to New Zealand, Scenes From The South Island.
 Yellow Horizon’s evocation of personally and psychically loaded places could well act as a
 sequel to Montgomery’s defining opus." -The Wire on "Yellow Horizon" (Pseudoarcana)


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