Arborea

Red Planet establishes Arborea's complex synthesis of acoustic folk and minimalist drone right out of the gate. From the opening motif of the acoustic guitar lament "The Fossil Sea", Red Planet conjures a panoramic aura, like a lost outtake from Ry Cooder's Paris, Texas soundtrack. As that echoes its way into "Black is the Colour", an eerie and utterly transcendent take on the traditional tune, it becomes mesmerizingly clear how the soft confluence of texture, sound and style meld to create the Arborea experience. Buck Curran's atmospheric guitar style echoes softly throughout, like elegies for forgotten souls or lands laid barren by time. The spotlight, however, is awash on Shanti Curran and her otherworldly and sonorous voice, sounding like a ghostly marriage of Tim Buckley and Hope Sandoval as it elevates high above the fragile acoustic terrain. Helena Espvall of Philadelphia acid-folk explorers Espers made a special trek up to Maine in the summer of 2010 to collaborate with Arborea, and her inimitable, instinctive harmonizing cello style provides key textural contributions to "Spain" and "Arms and Horses". Throughout Red Planet, a minimalist fusion of acoustic music and folk-rock is maintained from start to finish, creating a resonant landscape illuminating a world full of softly foreboding magic and endless possibilities. Red Planet documents an astounding achievement by Arborea - two artists who have effortlessly melded their life experiences into one pure and distinct vision.