Hammock - Love in the Void - Opaque Hellfire - VINYL LP

Our history as music impresarios began with James Carter on compact disc in 2005 when he led the Gold Sounds sessions for Brown Brothers Recordings. He was our favorite saxophone player then and in a 2023 club date at New York City's Birdland proved he was playing as well as ever. He was the obvious choice to contribute a solo baritone saxophone LP to our lone instrument series.

Since forming as Hammock in 2003, Byrd and Thompson have released 12 critically-acclaimed albums and are renowned for their unique talent for bringing inexpressible emotion to life. From the Void is an extension of the band's genre-defying 2023 album Love in the Void. Hammock's Marc Byrd explains InchThere are four songs we were considering for Love in the Void that weren't fully fleshed out. Listening to them again, we decided they deserved to be brought to life because of how they made us feel. In addition, we decided to create four new pieces inspired by LITV. Adding these pieces and pulling them from the void creates what we think is a bridge between LITV and our next LP, as well as a nice stand-alone document of music.Inch

Nevertheless, the latest album from Hammock, exists in a state of awakening. Across 11 ambient guitar string, and piano works, ethereal light crests and contrasts with darkness, giving shape to physical forms and feelings. Amidst sorrow and grief, melodic motifs and refrains echo from the past to reanimate dreams and faded memories. As Nevertheless asks questions of permanence and purpose, beauty takes shape in the intangible-the traceless connections that gave, and give, meaning.InchNevertheless has been one of those words that has outlasted my upbringing,Inch says Hammock's Marc Byrd. InchBeing from the deep South, I most often heard it said or read at funeral services. It's meant to imply a type of sacred pause... a space of in between. Between the grief of being broken by the world and the impossibility of moving into a future that feels more like empty space and less like solid ground. This album is for a friend who lost a daughter and a son to addiction within a couple of years of each other. Requiem for Johan sets up the context for what is to follow throughout the rest of the album... a passage through the aftermath of devastation. Unfortunately, and fortunately, these seasons of loss are what we all share in common. Nevertheless... we limp on.Inch