Robbie Eleckt
Following Patricia for a while now I disovered this album was released just 4 days before I hit play while I was on my last day of 2 weeks vacation while sitting in a park containing lots of memories from my youth as well as the city I was in. Waiting for my train while listening to this album in a sunny/cloudy/shady park over and over was an unforgettable experience. Thank you.
Favorite track: Echoes Through Time.
George Myers
Hard to pick a favorite but this track is lovely. At once light and ethereal there's still a lilt and depth to each layer that rather than anesthetize the listener, draws them further into the listening experience
Favorite track: Surfing on Wind.
entheateahouse
I cannot wait to play this in the teahouse and tell everyone local to Portland or visitors from afar who come for tea with vinyl to get this. ASAP. It’s a masterpiece Patricia. An absolute masterpiece. Favorite track: Echoes Through Time.
magoski
No need
to go
to the Moon
better still
to
enjoy the Moon
from far away
I have
this stream
at my feet
I have this love in my gaze
I have this thought
of you and I
and
in between
us
is where we meet
a heaven
on any
suitable
exo
rocky
Hebrides
like
Hebrides
capable of
understanding
planet
like
earth
like
Us Like Here
and Now
I imagine
sharing
eternity
wrapped in these notes
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Hrafnamynd t-shirt (Color: Stone)
Silkscreened Balmat Logo (Front) and Hrafnamynd Cover Illustration by José Quintanar (Back)
Unisex
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Hrafnamynd Tote Bag
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Hrafnamynd LP - Black Vinyl
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140 grams Black vinyl.
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Hrafnamynd Limited Edition T-Shirt Bundle
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
140 grams Orange vinyl.
Full colour cover - printed inside and outside.
Black poly-bag inner sleeve.
-----
Hrafnamynd t-shirt (Color: Stone)
Silkscreened Balmat Logo (Front) and Hrafnamynd Cover Illustration by José Quintanar (Back)
Unisex
Includes unlimited streaming of Hrafnamynd
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Balmat 17 marks both a return and a new frontier. It is the second album on the label from Patricia Wolf, whose 2022 album See-Through is one of the most beloved in Balmat’s catalog; it also marks the first time that Wolf has turned her hand to a film soundtrack. The results are every bit as magical as fans of the Portland, Oregon, composer’s music might expect.
Hrafnamynd—Icelandic for “raven film”—is a new feature-length documentary by experimental filmmaker Edward Pack Davee. Shot on a mix of film and digital formats, and incorporating his father’s Ektachrome slides from the 1970s, the autobiographical film works on multiple levels at once: a reminiscence of his childhood in Iceland, an exploration of landscape and folklore, and a documentary study of the island nation’s ravens—including a talking raven named Krummi.
Wolf is the perfect artist to score such an unusual film. Mixing ambient music and field recording—including extensive experience documenting bird song—Wolf brings an unusually empathic perspective to her music. In the context of Hrafnamynd, her airy melodies, pensive atmospheres, and vivid textures intuitively complement the film’s grainy film stock and blown-out colors. Friends for years, the two artists further bonded when Wolf asked Pack to film music videos for her songs “Woodland Encounter” (from See-Through) and “The Culmination Of” (from I'll Look For You In Others). Pack used Wolf’s previously recorded music as placeholders as he began assembling a rough cut of the film, which made her a natural choice to help him complete his idiosyncratic vision with an all-new, bespoke score.
But Wolf’s soundtrack also indisputably stands alone as a full-length album. Largely created using the UDO Super 6 synthesizer, it features a carefully distilled palette of warm, string-like pads and darkly glistening mallets, rounded out with the very occasional introduction of nylon string guitar. Musically and stylistically, the album’s 11 tracks represent both a continuation of the ruminative sound of See-Through and also an extension into new expressive modes. Few musicians, ambient or otherwise, are as skilled at balancing melody with atmosphere, or at finding ways to eke fresh, surprising sounds out of an intentionally reduced toolkit. Meditative, immersive, and emotionally generous, Wolf’s Hrafnamynd soundtrack evokes a range of ambient classics from decades past while confidently marking out its own verdant patch of ground.
Artist’s Statement:
Edward and I have been friends for years, but we really started to get to know one another better after I hired him to make music videos for my songs “Woodland Encounter” and “The Culmination Of.” For those projects we got to spend a lot of time hiking in various locations around the Pacific Northwest with his camera, very nice lenses, and tripod. Keeping quiet, hidden, and vigilant we searched for wildlife, good light on the trees, meadows, lakes, rivers, and skies. Edward was already an appreciator of my music and I was already in awe of his filmmaking talents so it felt like a great fit. Although we work in different areas of art our styles compliment one another. We both tend toward slow and careful pacing, with a focus on emotion and introspective reflections on life and the landscapes around us. For this reason, I knew that I could trust Edward to create videos for my music. We saw so many beautiful and unexpected things on our filming days, but I was moved to tears once I saw how magnificent and poetic it all was. His video work from the cinematography, to the editing, and color correction helped bring my inner vision to life.
A few months after that, Edward surprised me with an invitation to work on the soundtrack for his new film, Hrafnamynd. I enthusiastically said yes. I had always wanted to work on a film, and I knew that his filmmaking style would be inspiring to write music for. I had recently acquired an UDO Super 6 synthesizer but hadn't used it much. I decided that this would be the synth that I'd use for the film. It has the ability to sound very modern, but can also sound so warm and fuzzy, like a synth from the 1970s. It turned out to be the perfect instrument for this project as the film itself straddles time from the ’70s to today.
When Edward sent me the rough cut of the film, he used placeholder music to help give me an idea of the emotion and energy that he was hoping to achieve for each scene. For many of the scenes, Edward used music from my albums as temporary tracks. This told me that he trusted my work and style and therefore I should just trust my intuition with how to proceed. I wanted to make sure that everything that I made was a direct reflection of what was happening on screen, a mirror of its emotion and energy so people could really lock into the film psychologically. This process took my composing to unexpected places—like being led by a strange cat or a raven that seemed to have something to show me. I found that the approach made the music so much more dynamic than my usual style. I really enjoyed being influenced by the action and dialog on the screen. Thankfully, Edward was very happy with the work. I made sure to handle this project with the utmost care because this is about his life and his family, and an exploration of the experiences that made him an artist and filmmaker. While watching the film many times over, I found myself thinking about my own family and my early memories with them and how the place where I grew up has influenced who I have become. I found that his film invites the viewer to reflect on their own lives in a similar way. I hope that this music and film can guide others to contemplate on the history of their beingness and the people and places that shaped them.
Another aspect to this project is the splendor and wonder of Iceland itself. I had the opportunity to visit Iceland for the first time in 2023. I got to play a show there for the Extreme Chill Festival and met many friendly and brilliant Icelanders. I also got to collect field recordings that I used in the film. It's a fascinating place and culture that easily captures the hearts and imaginations of anyone who visits. Whether you spend your time in the city immersed in its impressive arts scene, or venture out into the wilderness to behold its wondrous landscape, it will leave a lasting impression. The soundtrack is also a love letter to Iceland itself.
Patricia Wolf is a musician, sound designer, and film composer residing in Portland, Oregon. Wolf uses electronics, voice,
and field recordings to produce non-linear compositions that draw listeners to a hypnotic inner world. Her use of melody and repetition manipulate the listeners' perception of time, conjuring vivid textures, and atmospheres....more
With voice, an upright piano and an old reel to reel tape deck Trappes explains, “I immersed myself in solitude and often deafening silence, and coexisted with an enormous amount of history and books" Patricia Wolf
"a journey that begins in a fire-scarred forest. The trees croak as each new gust of wind passes. Along the way, the remnants of a discovered past emerge" Patricia Wolf
Even at 80 years old, Pharoah Sanders played his tenor sax with the conviction of a gospel preacher. Every second of this album is arrestingly beautiful. As far as I'm concerned, this is essential listening for anyone who considers themselves a fan of music. 3sidesinasquare
Dreamy ambient from Tokyo's Betts(JP) that captures the impermanence of emotion in elegant washes of synth and field recordings. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 14, 2022
