Review Summary: Budd returns maturely with ear-cinema gold/not for the ADHDs
Harold Budd is an American experimental composer whose career began in the early 1960s. His works have ranged from gong solos to music for 3 pianos. Seven years ago, he was poised to resign as a public musician and composer. Feeling as though he had said what he had to say, he concluded, "I don't mind disappearing!"
Now 75 year-old Budd slides back into view with
In The Mist. It's heartening to see a lover of sound return to his love when earlier self-convinced he was through making albums. "It was a time in my life when things weren't just falling together for me, and I thought that I was just going to let it all slide ... I was sincere about it but if I had been more conscious of my real feelings and had explored my inner sanctum more I would've seen that it was a preposterous thing to do ... I didn't know it at the time."
As impatient and rushed as Budd's false proclamation of retirement was, he is a very patient and contemplative artist.
In The Mist sees him arranging and rearranging piano notes and ambient sounds to create sparse soundscapes. It takes a relaxed mind to hear the gravity of each track. But when attuned to and focused on its current, the album has cinematic power. Budd made this ear-movie for himself, and his feelings of exultation and wonder at choice note combinations and shifting frequencies become strong and tangible. His personality sounds both solemn and playful, like youth well-aged. And he has aged well, retaining the audible excitement of youth while maturing in patience and style. He has little left to prove to himself at this point by experimenting, yet his sound is vital and profound. Hats off to you Budd.
