Tomorrow night (August 19th) see’s Hibernate Records celebrate its first birthday with an evening of wonderful live music including Ian Hawgood, Tom White and myself. Apparently Danny Norbury and Konntinent will also be making an appearance so it should be a great evening. If you can make it along please do, its in a beautiful space too – the Birchcliffe Centre in Hebden Bridge:

Twin Peaks Theme by Talvihorros

This track (amongst others) are on a mix i completed for fluid radio recently entitled ‘Last Night Again You Were In My Dreams’

Listen here:

Talvihorros-Last Night Again You Were In My Dreams by Fluid Radio

The first track in this mix is a live track i recorded at home (with no further overdubs/edits) – it will be released soon on Hibernate’s new subscription label Rural Colours on a limited 3″CD and free download later this year.

Here is the full tracklisting:
01. Talvihorros – Solo Guitar Improvisation #2 (excerpt from a live recording, 2010)
02. Oneohtrix Point Never – Grief and Repetition (Rifts, 2009)
03. Hildur Gunnadottir – Circular (Without Sinking, 2009)
04. Sam Amidon – Prodigal Son (All Is Well, 2007)
05. Richard Skelton – Grange (Marking Time, 2008)
06. Elm – Covered in Blankets and Moss (Nemcatacoa, 2009)
07. Talvihorros – Twin Peaks Theme (Unreleased Cover, 2010)
08. Clint Mansell – The Nursery (Moon OST, 2009)
09. Lalo Schifrin – You Have Nowhere To Go (THX 1138 OST, 1970)
10. Neil Young – On The Beach (On The Beach, 1974)
11. Ous Mal – Viima (Noujuva Halava, 2010)
12. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – The Road (The Road OST, 2009)
13. Ben Frost feat. Nico Muhly and Paul Corley – Picture Something Beautiful (Bedroom Community Presents, 2008)
14. Joanna Newsom – Go Long (Have One On Me, 2010)
15. Danny saul – (Harsh) (Harsh Final, 2009)
16. Talvihorros – …And Then They Walked Into The Sea (Music In Four Movements, 2010)
17. Loren Conners – Untitled (Night Through, 2006)

Live:
Oren Ambarchi/Philip Jeck – Corsica Studios (01.07)

Occasionally one hears electronic producers’ work being described in literally artistic terms, with reference made to washes and brushstrokes in characterizing the musical material under discussion. Certainly one of the most painterly recordings I’ve encountered is Ben Chatwin’s latest Talvihorros recording Music in Four Movements. It’s so painterly, in fact, that only a modest number of overt traces of Chatwin’s primary instrument, the guitar, appears during the recording, with the clear exception the closing, fourth section, “…And Then They Walked Into the Sea,” where an acoustic guitar takes the lead role. On this forty-two-minute release, the London, UK-based producer uses guitars, organ, synthesizer, shortwave radio, chimes, music box, and field recordings (crunchy footsteps, flowing water) as sources but in such a way that their individuating sounds are often smudged into collective blocks of inscrutable character (that’s especially the case during the gaseous third part, “Thoughts of Violence”). The results straddle multiple genres without one in particular standing out as primary but, for simplicity’s sake, we’ll call it atmospheric-experimental soundscaping.
Dulcimer-like strums, acoustic picking, electric guitar fuzz, and funereal rumbles help render the opening ‘movement,’ “A Continual Echo of the Sound of Loss (Part I),” memorable, while the silken hum of an analog synthesizer warms the second part. A track title such as “Thoughts of Violence” suggests that Talvihorros’s material might be kin to the ‘death ambient’ style of Deaf Center and its ilk but in that regard Chatwin’s track titles are a bit misleading. There’s nary an abrasive or cranium-shattering sound to be heard; instead, the ghostly music exudes more a sense of peaceful resignation than violence per se. Think of it as the aural equivalent of a mysterious and enigmatic 19th-century landscape by a Symbolist painter like Arnold Böcklin or Caspar David Friedrich, for example.
We’ve been huge supporters of Chatwin’s Talvihorros project since the very beginning and the latest recording does nothing but confirm our already held conviction that he’s a special artist indeed. That an assured hand is at work is evident in how carefully calibrated the work is with respect to development. Each part—even the eighteen-minute third—unfolds with purpose and is as long as it needs to be in order to get its haunted point across. A superbly realized work, Music in Four Movements is available in a small edition of 200 so act fast if you’re interested.
Textura - Album of the month July 2010

Behind the rather enigmatic Talvihorros moniker is Ben Chatwin, a London-based experimental guitarist and musician whose debut album, Some Ambulance, was released on Benbecula last year. Chatwin uses a vast array of acoustic and electric guitars, vintage electronic equipment and percussions to develop extremely effective atmospheric soundscapes. Chatwin’s debut album presented relatively short pieces which acted as impressionist textural snapshots. With his latest opus, Chatwin takes a very different approach as he focuses on much longer and more complex pieces, expanding on the work he did for the extremely limited cassette-only mini-album Let Us Be Thankful We Have Commerce, which he published on My Dance The Skull earlier in the year.
As its title suggests, this album is made up of four pieces, described by Chatwin as suites, which, while seemingly unconnected, share the same sense of introspection and aesthetic, and follow the rather sombre narrative of ‘the final days of someone who has decided to end everything’ by drowning into the sea. Predictably, the mood is particularly bleak throughout, relying heavily on slowly evolving sound forms, built from processed guitars and electronics, upon which Chatwin attaches sporadic melodic cycles.
As the album progresses, the mood becomes increasingly heavier, at first defined on part one of A Continual Echo Of The Sound Of Loss by constantly changing textures, with various brushes of distorted guitars giving the piece a gritty aspect never heard again to this extend on the record, then on the second part by much more minimal sound forms where an acoustic guitar resonates against a vibrant electronic backdrop or languorous waves of synthetic strings scrape against a set of dark drones. This is progressively replaced by much denser and sparse guitar textures on the epic Thoughts Of Violence. Through the eighteen minutes of the piece, the tone changes a great deal, as the mournful strums that characterise the early part of the track gradually disappear in the background while an increasingly sombre and sterile drone develop over the second half, until layers of treated distortion and electronics add to the solemn tone of the piece. In the last section, there is a sense of peace that prevails as a lone drone takes shape once again. The concluding piece, … And Then They Walked Into The Sea opens with the sound of footsteps and concludes with the sound of someone walking in water. In between, the focus is entirely on a serene acoustic guitar melody which, placed against an electronic backdrop, becomes even more potent.
Unlike its predecessor, Music In Four Movements was conceived as a complete standalone piece of work, and is therefore much more coherent. Ben Chatwin’s already refined soundscapes have gained in contrast and complexity, his music in depth and clarity. This album is the confident work of a musician who is only still scratching the surface of his vast potential.
4.6/5
The Milk Factory

Hibernate Recordings once again provides a creative outlet for a relatively unknown, but extremely talented, musician. Talvihorros is Ben Chatwin, a composer from London and his brand of music is at once very listenable yet strangely abstract at times. I would hesitate to call this experimental to be honest as it’s far more fluid and melodic than that would imply. It simply features four beautifully put together compositions that form a very engaging album indeed.
Beginning with the two-part loveliness of ‘A Continual Echo Of The Sound Of Loss’, the scene is quickly set with some wonderfully evocative initial drones and soundscapes which are joined by a series of guitars textures, gradually filling out, moving onwards and adding layers of intoxicating melody – sad melody, certainly, but all the more beautiful for them. It’s a tough sound to describe as it lies somewhere between the organic electronic and a more, dare I say, progressive sound. And when I say progressive I mean that in a good way. There’s something about the hypnotic base sounds – the gentle guitar arpeggio, the swelling chords – and the way everything flows over these building blocks that really charmed me immediately and became more enchanting with each subsequent listen.
Part II adds in a more electronic style with synth sounds delivering the main meat of the chord structure and a fair amount of the melody. Again, it’s the subtle and low-key use of tone and a seemingly endless selection of layers that really brings everything together so well. After a first half that’s full of movement the second half eases into a more flowing ambient section with those sweet synths taking over pretty much completely and from there it slowly ebbs away into a looped chord and reverb-laden plectrum hits. It’s a lovely piece.
Segueing seamlessly into the third track you’re instantly struck by the subtle change in tone. It begins in an almost Celer-esque style with a luscious drone that, once again, is added to piece by piece over the course of the next 8 minutes. A mournful strum of the guitar here, an echo-drenched chord there, every note sitting in exactly the right place. Come the halfway mark the pieces start drifting away until at the end you’re left with a restless texture that fades away with the sound of footsteps on gravel accompanying it. There’s something rather haunting about this part of the album and, no surprises, it’s one of my favourite sections.
The final work is a shorter track that gives the album a nicely rounded out feeling. This is a pure slice of melancholy that, to these ears, has a lot in common with the works of Phelan and Sheppard. It features the sort of guitar playing and chord progressions that I find naturally appealing due to their rather sombre, but delicate and fragile feeling. Joined by a single tone, the rest of the music fade out and is replaced by the relaxing sound of lapping water – a fitting was to end as it mirrors the style of a very natural CD all around.
This has been played many, many times and, as mentioned before, I find it hard to do justice to it in words (which is somewhat unfortunate given that I’m writing a review of it!) but it’s an album that gets better and better with each listen in my opinion.
If you enjoy Type Records, Home Normal or Under The Spire this is definitely something you should check out forthwith and certainly has the Remote_ thumbs up of approval!
Remote_Thoughts

I have known for a few weeks that I would eventually have to sit down to write a review about this magnificent record. I’ve wrestled with how I can best do it justice for much of the month and it would seem that I am not the only one. If you take a look around the internet, this record out now on Hibernate is getting a lot of deserved attention. And rightly so – this really is a stunning piece of work.
Talvihorros is the project pseudonym of Ben Chatwin and he uses an array of instruments to form the backbone of his work that covers a range of experimental frequencies. The concept behind ‘Music In Four Movements’ is to provide a musical exploration of studies Chatwin carried out on suicide, particularly drowning, capturing the essence of the thoughts and feelings one might have had whilst embarking on ending their life. A bleak, doom laced concept for an album, but those of you that like your ambient on the lighter side, don’t be put off. For this record, despite its obviously daunting theme has plenty of empowering and deeply atmospheric moments. It is at times positive and triumphant amongst all of the murk and gloom.
Most of the tracks that make up these four movements are longer-form, yet not linear in structure or direction. The music of Talvihorros is constantly changing, evolving – full of twists and turns to serve as a truly immersive listening experience. Never does it become a predictable listen, even after having listened several times. The depth of this record is indescribable and I believe that in ‘Music In Four Movements’, we have a true classic that people will look back on and smile about for decades to come.
One thing is for certain, it is because of magnificent music like this that I am happy to continue my existence on this planet. An album that comes with my highest recommendation.
Audio Gourmet

Ben Chatwin is the man behind Talvihorros and the guitar, acoustic and electric, are his primary sources for music, but also adds organ, synthesizers, mandolin, radio frequencies and percussion. The cover looks like a design by Andrew Chalk, which might give you also a clue about the kind of music that is presented here – of course the label might drop the same hint. Ambient music with a big A and a big D of drone. Four long pieces of highly melancholiac guitar playing, feeding through loop devices and dark thoughts. The album is inspired by people drowning in water, which is perhaps not the most joyful thing to start a new day with. But Chatwin’s music is quite nice. Think a very mellow Fear Falls Burning, but then with lots of dark colors, predominantly grey and black. Its not the biggest surprise in the world of this kind of music, but Chatwin does his version with great consideration. Quite nice indeed.
Vital Weekly

The name Talvihorros is not the only Greek-sounding element at work in Londoner Ben Chatwin’s Music in Four Movements. Talvihorros is primarily a guitar project, exploring the range of notes and noises that can be coaxed from the instrument, but the plucked riff on the opening ‘Thoughts of Violence’ twangs distinctly like a bouzouki. This folksiness doesn’t last, and is soon subsumed by the portentous feedback growl Chatwin does best, but the balance of clean tones with smeared grit is a recurrent feature on …Four Movements, and an attractive one.
Similarly, both the maudlin track titles and the maudlin slow moving development of these long-form pieces recalls seminal Canadian post-rock depressives Godspeed You Black Emperor, as performed by one-man-band. The scene is set with lonesome, almost Western guitar figures, before feedback, organ and random percussive rattle sweep in like clouds of acrid smoke. Part I of ‘A Continual Echo of the Sound of Loss’ builds from indistinct industrial din into a thick tonal grey blur; Part II applies the bouzouki-like tones but leans heavier on sustained organ and feedback chords. The sparse play of notes against wind-howl feedback of ‘…And Then They Walked Into The Sea’ offers a resigned conclusion to the suite, hopeless even. Hardly surprising then is Chatwin’s inspiration for the album – ‘a journey of the final days of someone who has chosen to end everything.’ It’s a fitting end to a convincing and at times beautiful study of despair.
Cyclic Defrost

Talvihorros is the work of one man guitar manipulator and ambient enthusiast Ben Chatwin. Currently residing in London and enjoying a productive period as a solo artist (we’ve had a number of releases in stock since I started work here last year including an awesome looking tape on My Dance the Skull) Chatwin appears to be hitting his stride with Music In Four Movements. Primarily composing with acoustic and electric guitars, Talvihorros creates spell binding ambient post rock using analogue synthesizers, radio static and various percussive sounds and effects to realize his musical vision. This is a total headphones record with plenty of hidden textures and depth to explore and with Ian Hawgood on mastering duties and sweet artwork from Jordan Chatwin you couldn’t really ask for more.
Norman Records – Recommendation (14 May 2010)

Talvihorros might sound like a Doctor Who baddie, but it is in fact the dark ambient recording alias of Ben Chatwin, an experimental composer from London. The central driving force behind this album is the guitar, which seems to take on a variety of different identities over the course of any given track. You’ll hear the instrument dragged through clean, acoustic passages, as well as more processed electric sequences while backdrop textures from analogue synthesizers and other more ephemeral instruments chime in to great atmospheric effect. The album’s first half is taken up by the clunkily titled two-parter ‘A Continual Echo Of The Sound Of Loss’, which calls upon shortwave radio for some extra-creepy lost-in-the-ether vibes. Throughout this, doomy melodic patterns rear up, giving rise to almost Grails-like post-metal tracts which prove to be particularly fertile through the course of the cinematic second half. After a monolithic eighteen minutes of bleak, contemplative gloom during ‘Thoughts Of Violence’, a final and relatively short track (‘… And Then They Walked Into The Sea’) wraps up the album, bookending a tuneful piece of rundown instrumentalism with an evocative blend of foley-like recordings that opens with gravelly footsteps and concludes with a swish of water. Also worthy of a mention is that Music In Four Movements is mastered by Home Normal honcho, Ian Hawgood.
Boomkat - Recommendation (31 May 2010)

A big thanks to everyone who bought, downloaded, reviewed, blogged, twittered, played and listened to my music.

I have started work on the next project, so far its not about death….

Music:
Pieter Nooten And Michael Brook – Sleeps With The Fishes
Ous Mal – Noujuva Halava
Danny Saul – Harsh, Final
Cat Power – Free
Mogwai – Come On Die Young
Kraftwerk – Radioactivity

Film:
Radio On – Chris Petit
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – God is in the House

Music:
Greg Haines – Until The Point of Hushed Support
Alan Lomax – Murderers Homes
Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal
Emeralds – Does it Look Like Im Here?
Svarte Greiner – Kappe

Live:
Joanna Newsom – Royal Festival Hall (11.05)
Tim Hecker – Cafe Oto (18.05)
Heather Woods Broderick/Nils Frahm – Cafe Oto (25.05)
Ben Frost – The Luminaire (30.05)

HERE

If you do want to purchase a digital copy of the album then please do buy from Bandcamp rather than other digital retailers as 100% of the money goes direct to me the artist rather than big chunks going to large conglomerates.  But saying that id encourage you to buy the CD (HERE) – its sounds better, it looks better and you can hold it in your hands.  Physical products rule! The official release date for the CD in shops is the 17th May.

Regardless of what you buy or how you choose to listen to music – thanks for listening it means an awful lot.

You can stream the fourth and final movement below, which is by far the shortest piece on the album entitled …And Then They Walked Into The Sea:

….and then they walked into the sea by Talvihorros

Digital will be available to buy direct from myself at my Bandcamp page shortly before the release date and at the usual digital stores after the release date.

Music:
Neil Young – On the Beach
Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me (again)
The Sight Below – It Falls Apart
Oneohtrix Point Never – Rifts
Wolfgang Reichmann – Wunderbar
Loren Conners – Night Through
Cocteau Twins – Treasure
Roll The Dice – Roll The Dice

Film:
La Soufriere – Werner Herzog