Ryan Teague — Coins And Crosses

Coins and crosses is the eagerly awaited full length debut from UK composer Ryan Teague. It follows on from his critically acclaimed EP Six preludes. That record mixed electro-acoustic techniques, electronics and romantic orchestrations into an epic melting pot, this full length album ups the ante further.

It opens with the short Introit, a sweeping fantasia like introduction that blooms with tonal colour and manipulated textures. Strings and distant ethereal tones emerge from the light mist of electronics to beckon the listener into the title track. Harp and swinging strings are accompanied by a warm fug of droning electronics and fait digital percussion. As with Six preludes the sound has a deep resonant feel to it that goes far beyond the dry academia of other electro-acoustic composers. A filmic sense of drama is present across the album such that you are always drawn forward into it's narrative.

The title track only really flits with coherent melodies but these shards of light that permeate the mass of textures require several listens to fully grasp.

Nephesch as revealed in the interview I conducted with Teague in May is dedicated to the late Jhonn Balance of Coil. There is indeed a very Coil like influence on the piece with great use of manipulated choral refrains and the sort of Synth excursions you might find on Coils Astral Disaster but Teague finds his own place in the sound giving it a very orchestrated and multi-layered aspect that is soothing rather than oppressive. Tableau 1 another superb intermezzo track that wound's sound out of place on the next Peter Jackson fantasy epic. Rising strings and female choral sound permeate a think miasma of watery electronic drones and effects. This sets the stage perfectly for the most straightforward but also most rewarding track on the album Fantasia for Strings.

This piece is entirely orchestral and contains no electronic manipulations or effects. Again it's epic on a grad scale and features Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Tim Redmond. If Teague doesn't end up scoring for film then there is no justice, the balance of the piece is perfect and the solos are as gorgeous as you could want. The mood changes across the pieces eight minute duration beginning like a rising dawn on a battlefield before moving through romantic violin solos and finishes in an understated way fading out after a crescendo of string melody.

Accidia returns the melting pot of styles but retains much of the fantasia like orchestration. Here the instruments play through a mesh of electronic rhythms and ghostly tones, voices in the distance and ethereal synthetic textures. By the three minute mark a low bass rhythm has taken centre stage with very eastern like drones and bells augmenting the atmosphere. Tableau II has a far darker feel than the first Tableau, creepy piano notes and disembodied instrumental figures float through this piece making it quite reminiscent of David Toops recent Black Chamber material. The tension is much higher than the other pieces and leads on nicely to the albums final track Rounds.

This starts in a very disjointed fashion with juddering concrete sounds and distant synth tones. Keyboard melodies rise and fall throughout with some manipulated harp and other instruments appearing here and there. It's seems to follow on nicely from Nephesch and again has that ambient era Coil feel to it. Other percussion and electronics are added to mix as the track progresses before it launches into a full blown bassline and rhythm excursion, while never loosing the atmosphere and beauty.