Neil Cowley has had quite the career. It would be the ultimate “journey” in the parlance of an X-Factor evictee. From sought-after session musician to creating his own jazz combo, Neil Cowley Trio. But it seemed that he was unfulfilled. Retreating to the European capital of reinvention, Berlin, Cowley reacquainted himself with his first love, the grand piano, and set about creating his most personal body of work to date.
Hall Of Mirrors is a magnificent album, undoubtedly one of the year’s finest. I loved it when I wrote about it for Louder Than War back in March and I still love it today. It’s never far from my turntable. With it’s fusion of ambient, electronic and contemporary classical, it’s an album for all times.
Highlights to check out are the haunting Souls of the S-Bahn, Prayer’s sublime minimalism, the rippling soundwaves of She Lives In Golden Sands and the breathtakingly innovative Berlin Nights.
It’s probably an album that requires time to properly appreciate. But it will be time worth spending.
the dark flux 