Thin Air (album)
Encyclopedia
Thin Air is British
singer-songwriter
Peter Hammill
's 30th solo album, released on his own Fie! Records label in June 2009. It was additionally made available as digital download through Burning Shed Records.
As on his previous release, Singularity
, Hammill played all instruments, wrote all the songs and produced the album.
The main theme of the album is disappearance, as Hammill told British music magazine Mojo
in February 2009: "it became apparent fairly quickly that strong thematic links were running through the songs' lyrics: disappearance, change, loss, dislocation in various forms were stitched through all of them."
Another topic reappearing in several songs is the one of the World Trade Center
along with images of planes, though Hammill denied "any direct" reference to 9/11.
According to Allmusic, Thin Air "may be less experimental than Singularity, but bleaker -- and a more cohesive, consistent artistic proposition." The songs contain "almost no percussion, just acoustic guitars, piano, some gnarly electric guitar lines, bass, and those massed and intertwined back vocals that have become his signature".
The album's cover was again created by Paul Ridout, using stills from his video work "Minutely Observed Horizon".
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Peter Hammill
Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English singer-songwriter, and a founding member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Most noted for his vocal abilities, his main instruments are guitar and piano...
's 30th solo album, released on his own Fie! Records label in June 2009. It was additionally made available as digital download through Burning Shed Records.
As on his previous release, Singularity
Singularity (Peter Hammill album)
Singularity is an album by Peter Hammill, released on his own Fie! Records label in December 2006.The album was the first Hammill recorded after suffering a heart attack in 2003. Some of the songs refer directly to his brush with death...
, Hammill played all instruments, wrote all the songs and produced the album.
The main theme of the album is disappearance, as Hammill told British music magazine Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
in February 2009: "it became apparent fairly quickly that strong thematic links were running through the songs' lyrics: disappearance, change, loss, dislocation in various forms were stitched through all of them."
Another topic reappearing in several songs is the one of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
along with images of planes, though Hammill denied "any direct" reference to 9/11.
According to Allmusic, Thin Air "may be less experimental than Singularity, but bleaker -- and a more cohesive, consistent artistic proposition." The songs contain "almost no percussion, just acoustic guitars, piano, some gnarly electric guitar lines, bass, and those massed and intertwined back vocals that have become his signature".
The album's cover was again created by Paul Ridout, using stills from his video work "Minutely Observed Horizon".
Track listing
All tracks composed by Peter Hammill- "The Mercy" - 6:21
- "Your Face on the Street" - 5:21
- "Stumbled" - 4:48
- "Wrong Way Round" - 2:40
- "Ghosts of Planes" - 5:23
- "If We Must Part Like This" - 4:38
- "Undone" - 4:25
- "Diminished" - 6:11
- "The Top of the World Club" - 7:03
Personnel
- Peter Hammill – composer, vocals, producer, engineer
- Paul Ridout – design, photography