With decades of experience in music, Nick Day is a musician and composer writing primarily for guitar, solo voice, choral voices and sound textures. One of his recent releases The Testament of Will contains an interesting concept.
He explains that “The Testament of Will forms the first part of a series of multi arts productions entitled 'Moving Under Skies.’ The work explores and charts physical, social and psychological changes over the course of a human life. The idea was inspired by the 'Alice' books of Lewis Carroll.” “Human Geography” is the first song. It’s unequivocally very unusual but intriguing. The song starts with a meditative lush soundscape. There are notes that blend and bleed into each other. I could hear bells, ghostly vocals, harmonies and perhaps pads. There are distinct vocals that come in but this isn’t a typical lead. It sounded a bit like a chant you might imagine happening at a Knights of Templar Meeting which summons ancient spirits. There is a significant change when the guitar comes in which brings a sense of levity. The second song “Out in the Wash'' starts off a bit more traditional with female vocals and acoustic guitar. That being said it also transitions into a big sounding part which sounds borderline religious. “Night Terrors” was a pretty incredible song with incredible vocals. There are multiple vocal harmonies which are female and male this time. This song was even more religious sounding and felt ancient in a sense. I kept imagining this being sung in a beautiful cathedral somewhere in Europe. “On Chequered Lawns” utilizes the space between the music just as much as the sound of it. I loved “Fauna” which is a shorter song at three minutes but has some great guitar work and I thought the percussive elements were a nice addition to add some energy to the experience. He closes with the title song “The Testament of Will” which is the most beautiful song with more vocal arrangements that are pretty incredible. This is definitely one of the more unique releases I have heard in recent memory. It may take some warming up to but once it clicks it’s really captivating. Highly recommended.
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