Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Howard Hughes Suite: High & Lonesome

5

The Howard Hughes Suite: High & Lonesome

By

Sign in to view read count
The Howard Hughes Suite: High & Lonesome
Despite the group impression the name makes, The Howard Hughes Suite is the recording identity of a solo English pedal steel player, and High & Lonesome goes beyond his earlier recordings as an exercise in utilizing the recording studio as an instrument. The album presents the pedal steel guitar as an experimental instrument, sharing creative DNA with previous efforts such as the "ambient country" band SUSS and the playing of Daniel Lanois on albums like Brian Eno's Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (EG, 1983).

The tracks all start with basic pedal steel (recorded to a click track to help with syncing during editing). But then a wide variety of electronic processing might happen: the audio transformation applications Samplr and Borderlands were frequently used, along with slowed down/reversed takes, plus various effects added during mixing. "Flow State" opens the album with a cloud of shimmering sounds, occasionally and briefly including unaltered pedal steel sounds to remind the listener of the source. "Slow Motion Pictures" sounds like organ music at first, before resolving into a kind of infinite pedal steel.

"Transcendental Medication" is the longest track by far, and it includes a wide variety of effects, creating an expansive soundscape which incorporates high chorus-like shimmering sounds and something that could easily be mistaken for an organ, as well as identifiable pedal steel phrases. "Lake of Dreams" evokes dream choirs accompanied by organ and pedal steel before closing with a virtual brass section. "Hinterland" closes the album with a shifting abstract electronic soundscape: some of the most extreme electronic manipulation in the set.

This music is certainly not what most listeners would associate with the "high and lonesome" description of American country music. But the emotional core is present just the same. A remarkable ambient music collection, and not just for pedal steel guitar fans.

Track Listing

Flow State; Reverie; Slow Motion Pictures; Transcendental Medication; Lake of Dreams; Desert Spirits; Hinterland.

Personnel

Additional Instrumentation

The Howard Hughes Suite: pedal steel guitar, ambient textures and atmospheres.

Album information

Title: High & Lonesome | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Self Produced

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.