DANIEL HERSKEDAL
Call For Winter
(2020 - Edition Records - EU)

Melt your stress away with this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq5eA-n_uGk

BUY THE CD:

https://danielherskedal.bandcamp.com/album/call-for-winter

Here is a fully sincere recommendation from yours truly. I was taken by surprise by not only the beauty but the whole of this album. With just a tuba ?  You must be out of your mind to think it could be THIS great!  But it could easily sit on the shelves of ECM label, however it is on Editions Records.  

"Daniel Herskedal has won the Spellemann Award (Norwegian Grammy) for his solo album ‘Call for Winter’."

A Norwegian tuba player and composer (who has an outstanding series of albums now), Daniel did one of those self isolation retreats to a remote cabin in Norway, did a do it yourself studio set up, and made this stunningly soul cleansing release. It is an instant recommendation and you can experience a composition and the video to go with it for yourself (see above links). The video piece is 'Time Of Water' so trace off to heaven all ye big beautiful noise fans (be sure to skip the ads in this You Tube clips). It shows the utterly spirit filled journey of nature, through thick and thin, odds and devilish conditions, and all out final do or die courage.  Humans need to pay  undistracted attention. There is another Norwegian master musician (Terje Rypdal, quite a bit older than Daniel) who put out a heavenly album called "Descendre" with a bewitching song called 'Speil' which instantly reminded me of the feature video . Simply gorgeous with a peripatetic theme.

 Twelve compositions of what could be described as beyond beautiful, take the listener into a safe, sombre, and pure world of meditative bliss. Not meditative as in light weight ambience, but in a very deep much needed kind of music which people truly need to cleanse themselves of negative energy, stress, and the all too taxing anxieties of life. If you think for a second that the album only has one tuba being played, allow me to correct you. Daniel used other horns, multi-tracking, mouth effects, looping, and a host of other enhanced techniques on his works. 'Call For Winter' was  released June 26, 2020 and recorded by Daniel Herskedal at Elgstuggu, Elgå, Norway.

The pieces are varied and often surprisingly different from one another. Yet all keep this very pure and serene atmosphere and quality. Some parts are swift and ample with air, soaked with patience and sad emotions, yet aspiration clings tight as the music carries on.  A brilliant soundtrack it can be, but without question is a remarkable and decidedly must listen. If there were a far more potent word than gorgeous, I could use it to brand this whole release. If you own or can hear Daniel's earlier albums, you will see he is no stranger to graceful and ethereal, even spiritual compositions. For me, this 2020 revitalizing release is his best yet. Lastly, THIS IS NUTTY FANTASTIC!!!  

  ©Reviewed by Lee Henderson  4 - 15 - 2021