Infinite Echo

by Seahawks

Overview

Jon Tye and Pete Fowler, the British duo known as Seahawks, have released over a dozen albums that explore nautical and science fiction themes while swirling together elements of yacht rock, space rock, dub, and cosmic disco. Infinite Echo is one of their more conceptual releases, or at least one of their most technologically advanced. Taking influence from the writings of the late peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, the self-described "anti-dystopian" album incorporates vocal software programs designed by Lyra Pramuk and Holly Herndon, as well as the voice of Mindar, a Buddhist robot priest. Additionally, the album's visuals were generated using an AI program, based on pictures taken from the beach near the studio where the release was mixed. For a record that seems like a heady brew of philosophical concepts and sci-fi, however, the music itself is some of the lightest, easiest, most relaxing Seahawks material yet. Opener "Beams of Love" is a delicate tidal pool of '80s adult contemporary drum machines, guitar ripples, smooth jazz sax, and hazy nonhuman vocals. "Sometimes We Fly" blurs the lines between dub, space funk, and vaporous new age, and it has the album's most sensuous groove by far. "The Other Shore" has techno undercurrents lapping against ocean waves and nocturnal insects (or their digital approximations). "Spirits Guide Us" has some impressive interplay between harp-like arpeggios, flutes, and mellow keyboards and guitars, with some strange digital interference near the end. "Falling Into Space" has heavier, Balearic-style hand percussion, but it's caught in a sort of suspension rather than planted on the dancefloor, and it's also slightly more melancholy than soothing. As a whole, Infinite Echo has the outward appearance of being serene and hopeful, yet it still seems like it's obscuring something dark or unsettling, and it's as uncanny as the AI technology it embraces. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	12/09/2022
Label:	CASCINE
UPC:	0600246986634

Tracks

1. Beams of Love
2. Galaxy Time
3. Sometimes We Fly
4. Space Oracle
5. The Other Shore
6. Spirits Guide Us
7. Falling Into Space
8. Forever Now

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Seahawks   Primary Artist
Galaxy Brain   Vocals
Sven Atterton   Piccolo Bass,Fretless Bass
Holly Herndon   Voices
Alik Peters-Deacon   Guitar
Dan Hillman   EWI,Flute,Keyboards,Saxophone
Nick Mackrory   Percussion
Lyra Pramuk   Voices

Technical Credits

Rusty Santos   Mastering,Additional Production
Seahawks   Composer,Assistant
Claudia Rafael   Artwork
Dom Moore   Assistant
Jon Tye   Group Member
Pete Fowler   Group Member