A Lot on My Crate

Composer and multi instrumentalist Erik Hall from Michigan has made something that is really mind boggling and calming to listen to. A man who voyeurs into other provocative works and gives us a jump start in marvel by crafting his own versions here before us. His forte is minimalism music, which I am aware of people living with a minimalist and almost immaculate that’s sometimes to the point of a sterilized lifestyle, but in music?! I didn’t even know that was a thing. But it’s description makes sense as like living in a modest bare studio that is not too flashy or complex, minimalism in music is all instrumental and repetitive as the melody or harmony doesn’t stray too far from the beginning. If that’s not your appeal then turn around. How do you make something static, interesting? Well, you have the greats like Steve Reich being a pioneer in this genre and was able to pull it off, of course whom Hall admires as he did a whole rendition of his magnum opus that is Music for 18 Musicians in 2020. Here, Hall takes the mantle and takes a stab at four pieces that you can call covers, that is fair. Sometimes listening or discussing cover albums can be polarizing, but I must beseech you! A listen to this album is rewarding. It is like we say, has repetitive loops and in terms of start to finish on each track the beginning sounds very similar to the end. But after listening to the originals as well, Hall has managed to keep things so full of life and makes them flourish with his contemporary classical take. His style is minimalist, but far from sterilized. From the big four that is featured in Solo Three, I only have heard of Glenn Branca (the pioneer of No Wave) from the first track and Steve Reich from the last track, who I admittedly have not dabbled into his works, but have heard his name. And I now know of the other two composers being Charlemagne Palestine and Laurie Spiegel. It’s just four tracks, but each of Hall’s renditions of these tracks were able to stay true to their respective aesthetics. However to me, these reconstructions aren’t updates with a fresh coat of paint to fit the modern era, but are each given a dollop of magic that it gives anyone with an open mind, wonder. The sounds are also ambient enough to the point that it may purify whatever is weighing on your mind. What’s also amazing about this tribute to the other artists is that just like his version of Music for 18 Musicians, Hall performed the instruments on EVERYTHING. Yes, every component you hear on Solo Three, he’s the one behind it. The strings, the keys, and the winds, everything. No sequencers at all. That is a damn human being going through all the tedious repetition, that the final gestalt, when all the instruments are mixed together is not tedious at all. So, take my hand on this magical carpet ride.

In Hall’s rendition of Glenn Branca’s “The Temple of Venus Pt. 1”, it is started out with these staccato guitars and modified keys that flutter throughout. Then layers of instrumentation are slowly added that it gets a little more intense and tapers out at the end. The original was performed by ornate strings, but having all these different instruments being cohesive together makes this much more interesting. “Strumming Music” that is performed with a Michael Hedge’s like layered guitar sequences with Hall literally strumming throughout as advertised. It is airy and gentle and doesn’t stray from its path of freedom. It becomes more cinematic as time goes on when the piano loop comes in. It actually does become more dynamic in volume at its climaxes whenever the piano swoops down, but not overpowering.

I’m in absolute awe in the second half. “A Folk Study” by Laurie Spiegel when I listened to it, I really enjoyed how its Kraftwerk like synth loops are triumphant sounding. In Solo Three though, it’s very childlike and more upbeat with these synthesizers and guitars filling in space anywhere they can get their little hands on. Like little molecules reacting and bouncing off each other to give this delicate chipper mood after that long listen of “Strumming Music”. It is a fun pit stop, but I wish this track was longer. It healed my soul, but I totally get it, since the original was brief as well. Then the closer is Erik’s rendition of Reich’s “Music for a Large Ensemble”. It actually sounds very similar in the beginning with flutes and varied percussion arranged very similar. What made this one sounds so much more fleshed out though, is the textures of the smooth synths, brass (Oh! When the brass comes in!), and winds has mashed with these lighter flutes and percussion that it makes you actually isolate each note in your mind. Then you see the whole mural on the ceiling of this chapel. To me, it’s like looking at a planetarium of all the lights cooperating with each other in their own choreography. These elements really sound they are dancing with each other. It is a flash mob of color.

I only have a few complaints. The opener gave me a taste of what I was getting into, but it didn’t resonate with me like the other three tracks. As an opener though, it did a good job. There are some elements throughout the album that I wished were more prominent or there would be more instrumentation. I also loved “A Fold Study” and even though I understood the creative direction to make it short as its predecessor. I really wished it was longer as it sounded like something was missing.

Hall’s passion project is a cup of coffee and joy to jump start your day and it gives me absolute bliss that I found this record out of the blue. Yes, it is repetitive and if that is not what you’re into, then you might find this to be a chore to listen to. The arrangements of these covers were sublime as if they all made sense and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. A colorful cohesion. I also have to praise him in steering this one man ship by himself. I would be so down to go into the rabbit hole that is minimalism music after multiple listens of this album. If there is anything I can say about this experience, is this sounds like a soundtrack to cinematic flight. Yeah, no joke. It feels like you’re flying to this. If for some reason, reality decides to get all Ghibli in my mundane life and gives me powers of flight? Then this would be the album I would listen to as I fly over crops, through skyscrapers, with the birds, and zooming past the clouds where children would look up and be in awe, while summoning their parents to see what they have witnessed before I fade away.

FAVORITE TRACKS: STRUMMING MUSIC, A FOLK STUDY, MUSIC FOR A LARGE ENSEMBLE

LEAST FAVORITE: THE TEMPLE OF VENUS PT. 1

You can purchase this album on Bandcamp and his discography is also available for streaming.

https://erikhall.bandcamp.com/album/solo-three