NEW ALBUM: Roger Eno and Brian Eno

[Ruby]

ROGER ENO AND BRIAN ENO ~ Mixing Colours



The brothers Eno have released their first collaboration as a duo. Roger is responsible for all keys and Brian the rest, as well as production. It’s a concept album of sorts – a sonic interpretation of a colour palette – one which presently eludes me. I’ve been curious about how they decided on the colours (none of which are primary, or even secondary, that I can see). Were they colours used in a favourite painting? Those on the album artwork? Or did they simply like the names and use them for that perfectly good and non-meaningful reason?? (Update – they are impressionistic colours which is why they chose them – damn – thought there might have been a story to uncover.)

I already spoke about “Celeste” in the New and Notable thread – (https://www.music-discussion.com/showthr...#pid139876) it’s a beautiful track and I am not surprised it was a teaser. Others which I could see/hear were “Obsidian” – organ sounds which lend weight, not that it could in any way be said to be heavy; oddly enough though, it’s quite sombre, as befits a volcanic blackness, so the comparative frivolity of “Blonde” immediately thereafter is a light relief! “Dark Sienna” has distinctly earthy tones while the slow and deliberate progression of "Verdigris" gives an inkling of the complexity and alchemy of this pigment that’s been used since ancient times. I got the ebb and flow and shimmering scorching heat of “Desert Sand”, the mercurial nature of “Quicksilver”, the warmth and healing of “Rose Quartz” and the icy fragility of the opener, “Spring Frost”. There’s a lot more that unfolds on listening – kudos to them.

The album moves sedately and might be considered simple, which IMHO would be a mistake - there is more than initially meets the eye. There is no wild expression (note to self: do not listen to ambient music after lunch. Not that there’s a whole lot else to do right now – well there is, there’s always some or other chore, but I’m feeling lazy …. and I digress) and at around an hour and fifteen minutes long, there’s not a jarring note on it. It won’t be everyone’s cuppa tea but I think it’s balm for a bruised soul.

"Desert Sand" ... 

[R_burke]

IMO it's a sleeper, but for me that's a good thing

[Ruby]

The brothers Eno have had such a good experience with Mixing Colours that they’ve expanded on it, now adding an additional seven tracks in the form of an EP titled Luminous which will be released in August.

They’ve had a lot of fun with this project, engaging listeners along the way by inviting them to submit home videos to accompany a piece and potentially be chosen to officially represent it in film. I think that interaction works really well with the whole concept – a lovely broad spectrum of allsorts - https://www.mixing-colours.com/. The new colours are:

Moss
Violet
Manganese – this one has a video assigned already - as visually ambient as it is aurally. Manganese in this instance is a sort of violet tint that was used by the impressionists to give a certain luminosity to their work, hence the title I expect - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdkb1oAeDkM
Vermilion
Marble
Pewter
Malachite

 ….. and I have finally found out about how house paint colours are named which sounds like a perfectly wonderful job! It’s actually a lot more strategic than one might think – not to mention competitive. They are dreamed up by teams who create word combinations that conjure up images of travel destinations, for example – Kalahari Sunset or Sail Away, or feelings of comfort - Toasted Marshmallow, Buttermilk, etc. Quite fascinating! And then I discovered that there have been experiments with AI to see whether names could be generated that way (which they can’t, in short - at least not yet), however, some are quite hilarious and oddly charming … Lemon Nose, Shy Bather, Clay Cow, Barkying White, Parp Green, Windled Waters and Spiced Rope to name a few!