The Hummer
Encyclopedia
The Hummer is the ninth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend
, and his second ambient
album. It was released on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records, on November 15, 2006.
and ocean sounds, as well as audio samples from sources such as a reading by Leonard Cohen
of part of the Tibetan Book of the Dead
, Ravi Shankar
, and the 1997 science fiction
film Contact
. This is a quiet, reflective work in the vein of meditative
music, and provides a stark antithesis
to the aggressive heavy metal stance adopted by one of Townsend's other projects - Strapping Young Lad
. Townsend describes it as "much more user friendly than the Devlab
...still; some people are going to think it's just buzzing and humming noises, so again...it's not for everybody."
Devin Townsend
Devin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....
, and his second ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
album. It was released on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records, on November 15, 2006.
Music
The album chiefly consists of interwoven low frequency sounds, flute, morse codeMorse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
and ocean sounds, as well as audio samples from sources such as a reading by Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
of part of the Tibetan Book of the Dead
Bardo Thodol
The Liberation Through Hearing During The Intermediate State , sometimes translated as Liberation Through Hearing or Bardo Thodol is a funerary text...
, Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
, and the 1997 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film Contact
Contact (film)
Contact is a 1997 American science fiction drama film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both Sagan and wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film adaptation of Contact....
. This is a quiet, reflective work in the vein of meditative
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
music, and provides a stark antithesis
Antithesis
Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
to the aggressive heavy metal stance adopted by one of Townsend's other projects - Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing...
. Townsend describes it as "much more user friendly than the Devlab
Devlab
Devlab is the seventh solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and his first ambient album. It was released on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records, on December 4, 2004...
...still; some people are going to think it's just buzzing and humming noises, so again...it's not for everybody."
Track listing
- "The Hummer" - 15:55
- "Arc" - 23:04
- "Consciousness Causes Collapse" - 6:39
- "Equation" - 3:16
- "The Abacus" - 8:03
- "Cosmic Surf" - 16:27
Personnel
- Devin TownsendDevin TownsendDevin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....
– music - Jeff Feinstein - flute
- Konrad Palkiewicz - artwork and layout