Search - Chroma Key :: Graveyard Mountain Home (Bonus Dvd) (Spec)

A Distinct Study in Minimalism

Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 12/05/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Let's start with the beautiful packaging of Chroma Key's third album Graveyard Mountain Home. While I generally prefer regular jewel cases with booklets, I had to pick up the limited edition of this album due to the bonus DVD. After all, it's this movie, Age 13 (an old 1950's film), that inspired Kevin. Anyway, the packaging of the album is very velvety and it unfolds into four 'pages'. The regular album is on one side and the DVD is on the other. The other two 'pages' contain lyrics, song credits and the thank-you section. It's really beautiful.



Kevin Moore's previous work, as you may know, was the soundtrack of a Turkish movie called OKUL, and it was released also through InsideOut with the title Ghost Book. If you listened to that soundtrack and enjoyed (parts) of it, then you are bound to like GMH for sure. Kevin Moore is the epitome of moving forward and surprising his listeners, so don't expect any song-oriented albums like Dead Air for Radios or You Go Now. GMH is an expansive exploration of Moore's deep interest in movies and soundtracks. Obviously he wants to explore this part of music at the moment and he reminds me of the Norwegian band Ulver in this respect. Ulver started out as a raw Black Metal act before turning into a folk-inspired band and finally moving into electronical music and doing soundtracks for cult movies. Kevin seems to enjoy a nomadic way of life and he travels a lot. All three CK albums were written in different countries (USA, Costa Rica and Turkey) and Kevin always successfully implemented musical elements of these particular places into the mold of his songcraft. The cultural climax presented on GMH easily gives itself away. It flounders somewhere between East and West and Kevin does a perfect job reflecting the harmonious chaos of Istanbul, where he now resides. The strange yet almost addictive atmosphere of this city is delicately captured in songs like "Before You Started" with an almost wicked jazz drumming and "Andrew Was Drowning His Stepfather" with rainstorm sample added in the mix along with the call of prayer. It is a given that the experience of scoring a film inspired Kevin to take a similar yet more profound approach for GMH.



The album heading in a sountrack-oriented ambient direction may bring to mind that there are less musical moments on it than the previous two CK releases. This is not off, however I believe Kevin opted to employ minimalism in his writing this time, as opposed to re-visiting his previous efforts. Moreover the writing is very strong and enhanced with lots of acoustic guitars over delicately fragile layers of claustrophobic moments that seem to make a lot more sense within the context of the movie. That said, I never saw the movie of Ghost Book, yet I loved Kevin's attitude on it. Same goes for GMH. The two most song-based tracks on this disc would be the title track (albeit too short) and "Sad Sad Movie". Bilge Akdeniz who sang on Ghost Book also appears on one track: "True and Lost". The rest of the compositions carry the trademark Kevin Moore sound with various added samples, electronic soundscapes, spoken parts with Russian accents (must be because of the movie) and traces of other textures we could only expect from Kevin Moore. The album is characterized by an ambiguous mood -- it's not terribly depressing or sad, but quite reflective and somber all the time. That's one thing I love about Kevin; his music never depresses you. It always has an uplifting moment hidden somewhere in the music that carries you along and gives you the opportunity to have a mysterious glimpse into another life (the little boy in the movie in this case). His mixing repeating piano melodies with static surface noise and a few loops here and there have become integral parts of his writing. With GMH, however, he has broadened his vision considerably and created something not even the biggest Kevin Moore fan could have expected."

Pure genius!

Kit J. Lai | Australia | 11/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On this, the latest Chroma Key release, Kevin Moore has outdone himself. An album full of emotion, incredible sound sampling and surprises bound to entice the listener into the a world of heartache, yearning and pure determination, GMH is the perfect addition to any CD collection. I recommend purchasing this edition as the DVD of 'Age 13', the 1955 movie that formed the base of GMH, is included with the alternate soundtrack written by Kevin Moore. Following the movie with GMH playing gives the listener a real insight into the story behind the music and what Moore was trying to portray in the creation of this album. And believe me, he has done a very good job of it. Every action, every feeling within the movie has been captured in music and represented with a variety of sound samples, deceptively simple rhythms and even a monologue on track 8 (Human Love).Although this album is quite different from the previous Chroma Key releases, it is a classic example of the sheer brilliance that is Kevin Moore. A definite MUST BUY!"

Finest up to the small detail

Rolando Morales Durán | Guatemala, Guatemala | 12/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Every Chroma Key project is a landmark in itself. They cannot be compared with each other. So the first thing I will do is comparte this one with the others. This piece is UNIQUE. Certainly, unique. Kevin Moore's creativity tops the charts with this record. If you happen to like the adventurous roads that Chroma Key is willing to pave, you will love this album. I didn't got the DVD edition, but you can download the video for free. Take a look at it using this album as background. You will then understand Moore's brilliance as a composer."