Soft, absolutely stunning and as gentle as it can be, today’s song follows the sighting that left the artist awestruck. He wrote the sighting into music with all the emotions felt at the time, and today the single is released to leave the listener awestruck. A memory for the artist and sounds truly magical for us – read on to learn more about the song and its creator!
This is Rich Townsend, an UK musician and composer. Now in his 60s, Rich has decided to retire from his commercial career and dedicate his time and energy to creating and releasing his own world of music. Thus Samplehound was born, his music project planning to release 16 albums in the course of the next few years. With 6 already released and two more to come in this year, Samplehound is leading an excitedly busy life.
As the name of the project suggests already, main part in the music of Samplehound comes from samplers and synthesizers. These and countless inspirations and influences from artists, genres and emotions get combined, forming a wide selection of musical atmospheres. Warm and lush, the sounds develop in many directions from synthpop to ambient affairs, meaning wherever you look, there is always a song to match your mood. Natural beauty, one of the artist’s main inspirations, runs deep in this project. Hear it in the harmonies, in the background elements, flying past in the melodies sung by the lead synth, the wondrous awestruck emotion is there to underline the stunning sights offered by nature.
“I tend to feature strong melodies over rich harmonies that come from a mixture of classical, jazz and folk music.”
Rich Townsend
Speaking of natural wonders, the newest Samplehound single is based on one of those memorable sights offered by nature:
I was staying in Spain in April, in a village by the sea. One morning I woke up to hear the sounds of calling birds around the house. I went outside to see what they were, and I realised it was a flock of 50 to 100 small birds of prey. I walked towards the church square a few yards away and I could see them circling over the church and calling. A lovely sight! I do a bit of birdwatching and I realised they were kestrels (lesser kestrels in fact). They only stayed for an hour or so and then they were gone – there were on their spring migration from Africa. It felt like a gift from nature, and it also reminded me that the natural world has its own rhythms that have nothing to do with us.
Rich Townsend
It inspired me to create ‘A Flight of Kestrels’. I used sounds that were intended to convey a sense of motion and life, and wrote a slow melody to go over the top. The repeated piano pattern evokes their calls (though they don’t actually sound like that!).
Shimmering and wondrous like the beginning of a really magical movie, the strings and glistening particles of sound join together creating a fresh morning breeze. The piano joins in to build up the presence of the kestrels with so much tenderness it kind of makes me feel emotional. And then, just like the flock of kestrels, the song softly dissipates into the ether, a low and grainy bass note marking the end. And all that’s left now is a vibrant memory of something really beautiful. Like this song echoes in the ears long after it’s finished playing, the sounds of kestrels still follow.
Some of the best daydreaming music right there!
Don’t forget to support this project and to follow on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Spotify. You can also check out his official website. If you enjoy his music and are able to provide monetary support, you might consider downloading it on Bandcamp.
You can obviously find it in the following Playlists: Fresh Singles, 12 New Songs This Week, Track Of The Day, and Take It Easy.
P.S. If you enjoy discovering new artists and fresh new music you can subscribe to this blog Less Than 1,000 Followers and follow the Playlist with all the artists that we have presented here!!!
This coverage was created via MusoSoup #Sustainablecurator