three new songs from three new projects...
Current mood: pirate
Category: Music

hello! whilst i'm finishing off my own record, perhaps you'd like to hear some other songs that i sing on...

Okasa 'Last Words'

The Opium Cartel 'Heavenman'

Ignore 'The Doctrine'

i hope you enjoy them. i'll be back soon with more news about my record!

Rhys

Currently listening : Curtis By Curtis Mayfield Release date: 2000-08-15

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an album teaser!
Current mood: exotic
Category: Music

i've just put a little montage of Liquorice Kiss, All Light Fades and Undone onto my page. three songs from my forthcoming record!

be teased and enjoy!

Rhys

currently listening to: the new Ours album, which is fantastic!

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now on facebook (and some other places)...
Current mood: not ululating
Category: not ululating Web, HTML, Tech

it seems that the whole world is on facebook, so i finally relented. you can find my page here and become a fan, if you're that way inclined.

you can also find me on tunetribe, ilike and virb.

right, that's enough weblinks for today. oh, and more on the album soon!

Rhys

by the way, where did the 'now listening' bit go? i can't say that i'm listening to Cressida's magnificent second and last album, Asylum, from 1971. it's bloomin' marvellous.

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the whispers of a forthcoming record...
Current mood: voluminous
Category: Music

well, it's almost finished. i've kept the whole thing pretty quiet, as i wasn't sure when it would be finished and if it would ever be finished, let alone released. i've actually given up making music once (very nearly twice) in the two years that it's taken to make this record. but, i found myself drawn back to it and here we are... it's nearly finished and it's quite a thing, if i do say so myself.

the past few days i've been finishing off some vocals and guitars, as well as mixing in some gorgeous Mellotron, courtesy of Nicklas Barker, and some wonderful electronic textures, percussion and yet more Mellotron, courtesy of Mattias Olsson. one can never have enough 'tron...

in the coming weeks the horn section will be in the studio (he says as if it's a perfectly normal thing to say), then it's just down to the final mixing. the artwork is already in the stages of planning — the fantastically long-named and even more fantastically talented Nils Kristian Thompson Eikeland will be handling the photographs and the equally fantastically talented Elliot Jay Stocks will be handling the design.

it'll be released in the summer on the brand new Better Place Recordings label.

there'll be more information soon, as the recording draws to an end, so keep your eyes out...

Rhys

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i’m now also singing with...
Current mood: jedi
Category: Music

The Opium Cartel. this is an amazing band, featuring members of White Willow, Änglagård, No-Man and Jaga Jazzist. you can hear a rough mix of Beach House (my debut song with them) here!

Rhys

Currently listening : Still Life By Van Der Graaf Generator Release date: 27 June, 2005

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another review and another number one!
Current mood: triumphant
Category: Music

another number one...

i'm now at number one in Norway's Jazz chart!!

i've pretty much been at the top of the Melodramatic Popular Song chart for three months now, so to now be there in Jazz is doubly great!

new single review...

Rhys Marsh and the Autumn Ghost 'I Will Find A Way To Reach You / Spoken' (self-released).

Absolutely gorgeous is, I think, the best way to start in describing this fragile beauty. We tumbled across Rhys' Myspace site a few missives ago (missive 133, in fact) and were literally blown away by the mesmerising entwinement of symphonic classicisms and noire-ish folk nuances. That said, such measured elegance should come as no surprise to fans of the late and lost Mandala, whose tantalisingly spectral delights, captured within their extended play collections, 'Before Memory' and 'The Tears Of A Thousand Angels' (see missive 99), where timelessly statuesque works of such tear-forming bleak sweetness, that any foolhardy attempt to settle down and navigate throughout in one bold attempt, bore the potential health warning of supervised counselling afterwards.

Now relocated to Trondheim, Norway, and adorned, aided and abetted by the select and svelte intonations of the six-piece multi-national orchestra, the Autumn Ghost, 'I Will Find A Way To Reach You / Spoken', provides Marsh and Co with their first fully-realised shy-eyed outing into the world of pop.

Quietly demurring, 'I Will Find A Way To Reach You', from the outset starts to work its spell, weaving magic. Delicate and unassuming, it occasionally unfurls momentarily, to blossom into a vividly preening beauty, before shyly withdrawing in on itself, all the time the measured elegance tweaked and pinched by a dulling sense of unshakeable winter-set sadness, that aligned to Marsh's richly hushed vocals - themselves sounding remarkably like a loose-limbed and longing David Sylvian - ferment splendidly to join the dots between Oddfellows Casino and Nick Drake.

Lulled by corteges of achingly frail strings, 'Spoken', over on the flip, is seductively sparse in contrast, courted by the haunting onset of refined interweaving near neo-classical / church-like harmonies that, although irrefutably timeless, appear oddly out of time and yet embrace a feeling that this is something enchanting, engaging and far beyond the acknowledged remit of pop and, instead, rather more a gloriously noire-invoked, cuttingly bleak, but beautiful overture, that in these days of here-and-now-urgency and greed is, I'm sure you'll agree, a most rare commodity - handle it with care.

(Losing Today)

thank you to all who have been listening / following / supporting, thus helping the number onenesses!

cheerio!

Rhys

Currently listening : Black Refuge By Junip Release date: 28 November, 2005

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review, notable mention, digital single, liten konsert...
Current mood: working
Category: Music

review...

Mark at Losing Today sent me this review yesterday...

"Absolutely inspiring and gorgeous, albeit heartbreaking, classical-countered sophisticated pop from this multi-national orchestra (the Autumn Ghost), fronted by Norwegian based Rhys Marsh (as in Rhys Marsh and...). This collective carve and craft vivid, vibrant, emotionally colossal, sublimely stately and elegant wide-screen pop of the highest order, that delicately caresses and rises with tumultuous intensity at the drop of a hat.

All at once intricate and measured, 'Can't Stop The Dreaming' embraces the same sweet solemnity of Nick Drake, albeit that'll be Nick Drake working behind the scenes, collaborating with a supergroup made up of members of the Dream Academy, fronted by David Sylvian, with the breathlessly sweeping orchestrations mapped and annotated by Ryuichi Sakamoto. More fragile in design, 'All Lights Fades' is similarly touched and tendered with a fading introspective beauty, braided by a seductively arresting canter-like rustic-hued collage.

losingtoday.com

notable mention...

i saw today that the English newspaper The Telegraph have put my single in the 'sounds promising' section of their downloads site... pretty chuffed about that am i.

single...

did i mention my single? well, my single, *ahem* as featured by The Telegraph, can be bought by clicking on this picture...

liten konsert...

if you're in the Trondheim area, i'll be playing some songs at Kjeglekroa on Friday. it's at number 30, Kongens Gate - very close to the Bruk Bar. the music starts at around 20:00 and entry is free and i'm on at about 21:00.

all for now,

Rhys

Currently listening : Foundation Sounds By Eric Matthews Release date: 12 September, 2006

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debut digital single... OUT NOW!
Current mood: jubilant
Category: Music

my debut digital single, I Will Find A Way To Reach You, is out today! it's available exclusively through TuneTribe and you can buy it here.

it's possibly the first double a-sided mp3 single, although that may not be true. the mp3s are 192kbps, which is the least i can do, really. there might even be a vinyl edition coming sometime, someday... 

click the cover to listen to samples and buy it! 

or click here to buy it! 

enjoy! 

Rhys

Currently listening : Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos By Susanna Release date: 28 August, 2007

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number 1!
Current mood: groggy
Category: Music

fantastisk!

Currently listening : Origin of Symmetry By Muse Release date: 20 September, 2005

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forthcoming concert, television appearance...
Current mood: nimble
Category: nimble Music

for my concert at Skuretfestivalen, on the 26th of August, i will be accompanied by Jo Fougner Skaansar on double bass and Tonje Tafjord on flute. i'm very excited about this!

doors open at kl 21.00 and tickets are 60 kr, which can be bought via sms, on 98 44 64 27. more details are on the poster, which is my main picture.

i've heard that Sky Channel 'MusFlash TV' have me as a featured artist, alongside Rufus Wainwright and Bright Eyes. now, as i don't have a TV, i can't say any more about it... but it sounds pretty cool!

in other news, i saw Susanna And The Magical Orchestra the other day and it's one of the best concerts i've ever been to. it was so quiet and beautiful. in fact, damn-near perfect.

here's a photo i took...

Currently listening : Secrets of the Beehive By David Sylvian Release date: 29 June, 1992

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two things...
Current mood: rejuvenated
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

firstly, i had a dream last night in which i lost my wallet... in an alternate reality! impressive. shame though - i loved that wallet. ah well, better get a new one. "i really don't stand a chance of finding it", i thought, just before waking up, thus not ruining my day. dreams, eh?!

secondly, i've decided to release a digital single. it'll have maybe three tracks and will be the first in a series of some, which will be released every two months, or so. as you can probably tell, it's still a new idea.

more on this, plus details of a Norwegian festival that i'm playing at, soon!

Rhys

Currently listening : The Lateness of the Hour By Eric Matthews Release date: 26 August, 1997

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vocal contribution to Takashi Mori's 'First'...
Current mood: anxious
Category: Music

i recently contributed lyrics and vocals to 'First' by Takashi Mori. the finished track, which also features the trumpet of Tetsuroh, can now be heard on Takashi's page.

next week, Takashi will be visiting me in the Norwegian mountains for a five-day recording session - he'll be drumming on more of my new songs and i'll be singing on more of his new songs.

Rx

First (music by Takashi Mori, words by Rhys Marsh)

all we have will disappear
then we'll fear
that the beauty we see
is taken complete
from right here

we fail to see what will be missed
this moment's bliss
there is beauty within
the soul and the skin
the first kiss

let's try to hold on evermore
but what for?
we may put a fight
and try all we might
they ignore

we bid farewell to what we knew
it falls from view
though the chances look slim
our new world begins
and i'm with you

we will all be here
everything will clear

from a place there comes a word
seldom heard
and time after time
we're crossing the lines
they're all blurred

finally all that is new
is in our view
and it's always the way
until the last day
that i'm with you

we will all be here
everything will clear

Currently listening : It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s the Way You Land By Soulsavers Release date: 05 April, 2007

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Nonpop article (in German)...
Current mood: shaky-legged
Category: shaky-legged Music

the great Nonpop have just written an article about me! i feel proud to be their Top-Artikel. here it is, in German...

Und einmal mehr: Musik, die irgendwie nicht zur Jahreszeit passt (das Frühjahr scheint in dieser Hinsicht so gar kein Glück zu haben). Mit RHYS MARSH AND THE AUTUMN GHOST halten September und Oktober Einzug – von goldenem Licht, der ersten kühlen Luft und dem Duft von Laub durchflutet. Eine tieferstehende Sonne über den Feldern, rötliches Leuchten, blasser Himmel – die bittersüße, noch von Licht und letzter Wärme durchwirkte Melancholie dieser ganz gewissen, ganz besonderen Herbststimmung irgendwo zwischen herabziehender Leichtigkeit und erhebender Schwere.

Ehe ich beginne, ein Wort vorweg: Im Falle von RHYS MARSH gibt es noch kein Album zu besprechen. Von dem ambitionierten Künstler aus London, der erst kürzlich seine Zelte dort abgebrochen hat und nach Trondheim übergesiedelt ist, liegt bisher „nur" eine fünf Stücke umfassende, nicht eigens betitelte Demo-CD vor. Dennoch, auch ohne offizielles Release lohnt es sich, einen Blick zu riskieren. Und als Blickfang eignen sich bisher: eine Webseite, eine Myspace Seite, das Demo und eine Reihe surrealer, von Licht und Farbe überfluteter Photos, die vielleicht am besten, und ganz ohne Worte, die Stimmung dieser fünf Lieder einfangen.

Summer ends… Melancholisch, traumhaft, über weite Strecken hinweg soundtrackhaft und jazzig angehaucht – so präsentieren sich die Songs von RHYS MARSH, die zwischen zerbrechlicher Fragilität und überraschender Klangfülle pendeln. Süß und bitter zugleich eröffnen mit „Can´t stop the deaming" vereinzelte, wie verloren anmutende Klänge, über denen die Stimme von MARSH schwebt. Was im ersten Moment seltsam dünn wirkt, lässt sich nicht viel Zeit, um zu einem kleinen Orchester mit (echter) klassischer Instrumentierung anzuwachsen, die es neben unerwartet dichten Klangstrukturen auch zu einiger Dramatik bringt. Was der eröffnende Track zelebriert, ist bei MARSH und den Herbstgespenstern Programm: Musikalische Zerbrechlichkeit im Wechsel mit soundtrackartigem Drama, verloren wirkende Stimmen, seltsam dünne und brüchig anmutende Strukturen (die doch recht eigene Stimme von MARSH tut ihr übriges, um diesen Eindruck zu verstärken) im Wechsel mit überraschender - und im ersten Moment unerwarteter - Klangfülle. Eine, im besten Sinne, eigenartige Mischung: Zauberhaft, berührend, etwas schräg, verschroben und trotz poppiger Elemente alles andere als eingängig. Eine Mischung aus Melancholie, schillernden Seifenblasen und Zuckerperlen, die auf der Zunge einen plötzlich bitteren Geschmack offenbaren. Musik, die leise, ja zurückhaltend, daherkommt, schon um die Ecke ist – und im Nachhall in ihren Bann schlägt.

Nicht ganz gewöhnlich ist auch die Organisation von RHYS AND THE AUTUMN GHOST. Umfangreich ist die Liste der beteiligten Musiker, die ein kleines Arsenal an klassischen (Geige, Bratsche, Flöte, Dobro, Gitarre, Zither und Konzertharfe) und elektronischen Instrumenten bereitstellen – ein Orchester, dessen Mitglieder allerdings über den gesamten Erdball verteilt sind: England, USA und Japan. Man könnte anmerken, dass dieser Umstand ein gemeinsames Musizieren zugegebenermaßen doch erschwert. Ein Glück, dass in der modernen Welt nichts unmöglich ist, und laut RHYS MARSH klappt die Zusammenarbeit über die Grenzen verschiedener Erdteile hinweg sogar sehr gut. So werden die Teile der Kompositionen in verschiedenen Studios in London, Hollywood und Shiga (Japan) aufgenommen, die Fragmente an MARSH, der selbst noch seinen Teil beisteuert, geschickt und letztlich von ihm zusammengefügt. Wie gesagt, laut RHYS MARSH funktioniert diese Methode ganz ausgezeichnet – und aller Skepsis, die man vielleicht entwickeln könnte, zum Trotze: das hört man auch. Das Ergebnis wirkt keinesfalls, wie man argwöhnen könnte, gestückelt oder improvisiert, sondern ergibt ein mehr als stimmiges Ganzes, und es ist schwierig sich vorzustellen, dass diese Stücke nicht in einem Guss entstanden und aufgenommen sein sollten.

Der Soundtrack für den traurigsten Film, das könnte eine Unterschrift für die Musik von RHYS MARSH AND THE AUTUMN GHOST sein. Oder eben: Melodramatic Popular Song, auch, wenn laut MARSH diese Bezeichnung eher zufällig entstanden ist. Aber: sie passt. Sie passt deshalb, weil er seinen melancholisch-melodramatischen Stücken bewusst Pop-Song Elemente beimischt, um eine Art von Balance zwischen Drama und Pop-Song zu finden: „Trying to describe my music always ends up with me using far too many words. i think i fit neatly into the 'singer / songwriter, with slightly jazzy band, with baroque strings' section", sagt er selbst über seine Musik. Als Einflüsse gibt der langjährige Musiker unter anderem Künstler wie den SAMADHI SOUND-Gründer DAVID SYLVIAN, den Norweger THOMAS DYBDAHL und den Isländer DANÍEL ÁGÚST an, inspirierend wirkten, neben Vertretern der norwegischen Jazz-Szene und einigen weiteren isländischen Musikern aber auch unter vielen anderen, SCOTT WALKER und NICK DRAKE . Interessant ist auch, dass es MARSH gelang, AKIRA RABELAIS für eine Mitarbeit beim Song „Unspoken" zu gewinnen; und für demnächst ist eine Zusammenarbeit mit der norwegischen Nu-Jazz Band JAGA JAZZIST geplant. Auch der Umzug nach Trondheim dürfte für einige musikalische Inspirationen sorgen.

All light fades, we remain. All words end, we descend. Bleibt zu hoffen, dass RHYS MARSH AND THE AUTUMN GHOST uns noch eine Weile erhalten bleiben werden. Auf Kommendes darf man gespannt sein.

the original article can be seen here, along with a slightly crazy google translation, which can be found via their main page. i'll put a more sensible English translation on my page soon!

Rx

Currently listening : I’m OK You’re OK By Jason Falkner Release date: 26 April, 2007

08:10 - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

new song, 'All Light Fades'!
Current mood: good
Category: Music

written last Friday and recorded yesterday, here's a simple ditty that i wrote whilst walking up a flight of stairs.

enjoy...

Rx

All Light Fades

all light fades, we remain
all words end, we descend

Rhys Marsh - voice, guitar, percussion

Currently listening : One Day You’ll Dance for Me, New York City By Thomas Dybdahl Release date: 27 June, 2006

05:53 - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

the Bowed Radio podcast...
Current mood: dirty
Category: Podcast

'Spoken' has been featured in Bowed Radio's latest podcast. Bowed Radio are into, that's right, stuff that's played with bows. seeing as Spoken has more bows than you can shake a bow at, it fits like a glove.

hear here

Rx

p.s. Norway's treating me very well thus far! Anja Garbarek and Jeff Martin have recently played and over the next couple of weeks Anekdoten and Magnet are in town. the sun's even come out and the ground is now green! it's the first time i've seen grass here...

speaking of which, this isn't grass, but a frozen lake with an elegantly fallen branch...

Currently listening : Honeyburst By Tim Christensen Release date: 25 December, 2003

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