Cotswold Stone
by Pulselovers
Pio Santobuono
ebuzzmiller
Chris Eccles
ejcw
ghostdog801
austinhealey
Andrew Firth
K.S.
Seneca
ronhendy
Mat Handley / Woodford Halse
subterania19
raffaele melina
jamesm1980
trickynic
guyonions
yondermeister
DJ SpaceTerrapin
M FORD
Jon Birkett
STUART YOUNG
Derek O'Sullivan
Jozek
jillhart
Don Cramer
John D.
hughmulholland
kd
The Shambotic Listening and Sailing Club
Dan Doughty
sawdoc
TheLaZyEyedSniper
bradbrandhorst
Nicholas Harris
Matthew Cumiskey
synrak
Jon Peachey
Damian Smith
HeatherD
Mark O'Meara
Rick Flynn
alee6617
Purple Sofa
hobochunk
johneffay
pbroome.
seanq101
Andy Parsons
itpiper
garythornton
Paul Ward
rpj4959hlc
garethevans
crasher242
Gordon Mallett
040music-collector
psorb40
Ian Cruickshank
The Duke Of Kidderminster
John Kent
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Record/Vinyl + Digital AlbumNew red and green cornetto pressing with three new inserts.
Includes unlimited streaming of Cotswold Stone via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.ships out within 4 daysPurchasable with gift card£24 GBP
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Streaming + DownloadIncludes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.Purchasable with gift card
£7 GBP or more
1. |
Cleeve Hill
03:22
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2. |
Autumn Arrives Again
05:23
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3. |
In The Grove
03:56
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4. |
On The Water
02:17
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5. |
Badby '80
09:17
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6. |
In The Marsh
03:52
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7. |
On The Heath
03:00
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8. |
||||
9. |
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10. |
Under Wychwood
04:23
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11. |
On the Wold
03:34
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12. |
Bonus: On The Green
04:18
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13. |
about
Mat Handley’s shimmeringly beautiful ‘Cotswold Stone’ was first released in 2019 and is driven by warm analogue sounds effortlessly conveying a feeling of being somewhere beautiful, out in the country.
‘Cotswold Stone’ presents a meditation on the passing of time and the persistence of memory and is in part a reflective work of familial dedication and reverence. The narrative is one that takes the listener on a journey through the rolling hillsides of England. The record is given extra dimensions and texture through the deployment of woodwind instruments at various points which add a real sense of pastoral energy to the work. Picking out highlights is always a tricky task when a record is so conceptually strong and consistently rewarding but let's have a go. ‘In The Marsh’ beautifully juxtaposes reverbed and spectral piano with bright synth arpeggios and distant woodblock percussion, whilst its glorious counterpoint ‘On The Heath’ is as inquisitive and enigmatic as the first hare of spring. ‘The Green Leaves of Shilden Hall’ are verdant and lush, propelled by some lovely flute and clarinet accompaniment adding an ivy-covered gentility to proceedings. ‘In The Grove’ with its spectral saxophone evokes images of solemn hillside sunsets and spiritual reflections on past lives. Badby ’80 deploys slabs of heavy electrical sound stretching out into the middle distance, while ‘Under Wychwood’ is driven by a rugged bass riff that speeds along country lanes and dazzles with full headlights before skidding to a halt and depositing the listener at our journey’s end of ‘On The Wold’.
“I think the music I make is steeped in memory, melancholy and location. I try to make each album sound different to the last, though melody, drone and uncomplicated rhythms are touch points I can’t seem to let go of,” says Handley. "This is a very personal album and is an attempt to preserve the memories of a happy childhood where along with siblings and cousins, I spent a lot of time in the Oxfordshire town of Burford in the mists of time. Burford is where my maternal grandparents spent much of their married life and is also where my mum and her sister grew up, got married and had their children baptised.
"Many of the titles are taken from road signs of towns and villages in the surrounding countryside, some of which I never actually visited but the words themselves trigger unspecific memories from those long 70’s summers: Cleeve Hill, Shipton-under-Wychwood, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bradwell Grove and Moreton-In-Marsh don’t hold any particular place in my heart (though I do remember Bourton was a great place to feed the ducks and Auntie C’s ramshackle Bradwell Grove cottage was situated within the grounds of the Cotswold Wildlife Park), but the words themselves silently echo throughout the album like vaguely familiar ghosts, like rain on hot tarmac or lavender on a summer breeze."
CiS are delighted to be able to re-present this album in a new edition of 300 copies utilising the same colourway as the original LP, but pressed up on a rather beautiful cornetto variant. This new edition features several new inserts designed by Mat and the ever wonderful Nick Taylor.
It's the perfect time of year to re-aquaint yourself with this classic of the genre and following on from Mat's sold out "Northern Minimalism 3" from earlier this year it establishes Pulselovers reputation for quality recordings that resonate deeply.
More new music from Pulselovers is scheduled for next year, but for now, please enjoy this wonderful record as we ease into December. There is beauty everywhere on this album. Get lost in it.
‘Cotswold Stone’ presents a meditation on the passing of time and the persistence of memory and is in part a reflective work of familial dedication and reverence. The narrative is one that takes the listener on a journey through the rolling hillsides of England. The record is given extra dimensions and texture through the deployment of woodwind instruments at various points which add a real sense of pastoral energy to the work. Picking out highlights is always a tricky task when a record is so conceptually strong and consistently rewarding but let's have a go. ‘In The Marsh’ beautifully juxtaposes reverbed and spectral piano with bright synth arpeggios and distant woodblock percussion, whilst its glorious counterpoint ‘On The Heath’ is as inquisitive and enigmatic as the first hare of spring. ‘The Green Leaves of Shilden Hall’ are verdant and lush, propelled by some lovely flute and clarinet accompaniment adding an ivy-covered gentility to proceedings. ‘In The Grove’ with its spectral saxophone evokes images of solemn hillside sunsets and spiritual reflections on past lives. Badby ’80 deploys slabs of heavy electrical sound stretching out into the middle distance, while ‘Under Wychwood’ is driven by a rugged bass riff that speeds along country lanes and dazzles with full headlights before skidding to a halt and depositing the listener at our journey’s end of ‘On The Wold’.
“I think the music I make is steeped in memory, melancholy and location. I try to make each album sound different to the last, though melody, drone and uncomplicated rhythms are touch points I can’t seem to let go of,” says Handley. "This is a very personal album and is an attempt to preserve the memories of a happy childhood where along with siblings and cousins, I spent a lot of time in the Oxfordshire town of Burford in the mists of time. Burford is where my maternal grandparents spent much of their married life and is also where my mum and her sister grew up, got married and had their children baptised.
"Many of the titles are taken from road signs of towns and villages in the surrounding countryside, some of which I never actually visited but the words themselves trigger unspecific memories from those long 70’s summers: Cleeve Hill, Shipton-under-Wychwood, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bradwell Grove and Moreton-In-Marsh don’t hold any particular place in my heart (though I do remember Bourton was a great place to feed the ducks and Auntie C’s ramshackle Bradwell Grove cottage was situated within the grounds of the Cotswold Wildlife Park), but the words themselves silently echo throughout the album like vaguely familiar ghosts, like rain on hot tarmac or lavender on a summer breeze."
CiS are delighted to be able to re-present this album in a new edition of 300 copies utilising the same colourway as the original LP, but pressed up on a rather beautiful cornetto variant. This new edition features several new inserts designed by Mat and the ever wonderful Nick Taylor.
It's the perfect time of year to re-aquaint yourself with this classic of the genre and following on from Mat's sold out "Northern Minimalism 3" from earlier this year it establishes Pulselovers reputation for quality recordings that resonate deeply.
More new music from Pulselovers is scheduled for next year, but for now, please enjoy this wonderful record as we ease into December. There is beauty everywhere on this album. Get lost in it.
credits
released November 24, 2023
All titles written by Mat Handley with contributions from the players.
Mastered by Jez Butler.
Artwork by Nick Taylor @ spectral-studio.co.uk
© Castles in Space
℗ Signal To Noise
CiS037
All titles written by Mat Handley with contributions from the players.
Mastered by Jez Butler.
Artwork by Nick Taylor @ spectral-studio.co.uk
© Castles in Space
℗ Signal To Noise
CiS037
license
all rights reserved
tags
about
Pulselovers Doncaster, UK
Northern Minimalism from the heart of South Yorkshire. Inspired by memory and
location.
Releases on Castles in Space, SubExotic, DIT, Misophonia, Polytechnic Youth, Russian Library and Sensory Leakage.
Also runs Woodford Halse.
... more
discography
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Nov 2023 -
Aug 2022 -
Jun 2023 -
Mar 2024
contact / help
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