DANIEL PATRICK QUINN'S debut (double) CD "The Winter Hills" (2003) introduced an intriguingly wilful and individualistic talent who was drawing upon rustic folk and drifting minimalism to forge a sound that was organic and computer-free while still bearing at least a superficial resemblance to the ghostly ambience of the new electronic wizards such as Boards Of Canada.
That debut was made while Quinn was still based in Lancashire, but two significant events have taken place in the interim which have surely shaped the sound and ambition of follow-up, "Severed From The Land."
The first is that Daniel has relocated to Edinburgh, which may not have directly have influenced the overall sound of "Severed From The Land", but it certainly has in terms of atmosphere. Indeed, while much of "Severed..." is once again a record of and about the rugged landscape of both the North of England and the Scottish hills, tracks like "Ettrick Pen" harbour a noir-ish tinge within their minimal keyboard motifs that hint at something distinctly urban.
More importantly, though, is the fact Quinn released an album of ultra-minimal ambience by American supremo DAC Crowell between his pair of solo albums, as several tracks here are very much touched by the hand of the maestro. Most obvious is the expansive drone of the closing "The Weight Of History", which is drifting off into the milky way somewhere between Crowell's "Harmundum" and Tangerine Dream's glacially iconic "Zeit", but Crowell's also there in the hypnotic, hymnal synth patterns that couch both the opening "A Wide Wooded Valley" and the gently morphing non-electro loops of "Spring Green."
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Nonetheless, Daniel's fascination for all things pastoral remains intact. "The Tip Of The Iceberg", for instance, is more reminiscent of parts of "The Winter Hills", with its' insistent acoustic strum and lazy blasts of trumpet. It has a fragrant, rural feel, with the flute-style synth hinting at Traffic jamming with Jon Hassall, if your imagination can cope with that. If anything, though, "Nine Standards Rig" is even better, and arguably your reviewer's favourite Quinn piece to date. Over a Velvets-style pop-drone pulse, DP makes like Mark.E.Smith circa "Grotesque" swooning over "a hill in the north of England, just south of Brough, east of Kirkby Stephen" and its' nine cairns thereupon. "It's a very nice view," concludes Daniel, signing off before the grotesque peasants move in. Brilliant.
"Severed From The Land", then, is the sound of a talented man continuing to climb an often lonely, but never less than notable musical mountain. The end result is not music aimed at instant gratification, but it's tranquil, hypnotic stuff that won't erode easily either. The hills are still alive, it seems, with the sound of quiet magic.
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