Remains

Description

Will Gardner’s debut album, Remains, is a personal story about loss, memory, and caregiving, told through poignant and disfigured soundscapes, as well as half-forgotten idylls on impressionistic and haunting piano. Gardner recalls his experience caring for his father, who had advanced Parkinson’s disease — exploring a “sonic imagination” of dementia alongside his own experience as a caregiver —, the grief of losing a parent in slow motion; and what it means to grieve someone who is still alive. At the heart of the album are his father’s diaries. Fragments of the text were used to create the rhythms and melodies on which the album is built, before the text was removed, leaving only the music. Will Gardner has spent much of his musical career working behind the scenes, alternating between different roles as arranger, conductor, and pianist. He has contributed string arrangements for bands such as alt-J, Daughter, hmltd and Låpsley, and has orchestrated numerous film and television scores, including Tin Star and the BAFTA-nominated Blue Jean.