Hammock - Oblivion Hymns - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Hammock - Mysterium [COMPACT DISCS] date 08/25/2017

2016 . Hammock returns with Everything and Nothing, the Nashville duo's first full-length album since 2013's critically-acclaimed Oblivion Hymns. With Everything and Nothing, Hammock has entered oblivion - a place of personal struggle, doubt, and change - and come out the other side; hopeful. The experience is meticulously woven into each song, shared with listeners through intricate melodies, compelling beats and solemn vocals. In some ways, Everything and Nothing is the spiritual successor to the band's 2006 breakout album Raising Your Voice... Trying to Stop an Echo. It recalls the same mastery of sound and storytelling, destined to spark every listener's imagination. Mixed by Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Jónsi) and mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound.

Vinyl LP pressing. Of the many great talents of the classic Nigerian highlife scene, none contained the existential depth, transcendence and grace of Celestine Ukwu. During his brief time in this world, he pursued education, music, and philosophy; first as a school teacher, then ultimately a singer, lyricist and musician, first as a member of Gentleman Mike Ejeagha's Premier Dance Band, and eventually fronting his own groups, The Music Royals and The Philosophers National. Beginning in the early 1970s, The Philosophers National established a radical shift in the possibilities of Nigerian highlife by moving away from the typical mid-century style and cutting a new path with a distinctly hypnotic and cerebral atmosphere. This sense of depth was apparent in the lilting, multi-layered and pulsing music of The Philosophers National, as well as the concise and clear-eyed lyrics sung so beautifully by Celestine Ukwu.