"April is Passing" builds on the remarkable Hardanger fiddle solo performances of the previous LP to push the music even further, with deep drones and extended techniques defining a vocabulary adjacent to Americana, but a unique and special sound that Mike pursues almost alone. Joined on selected tracks by Cara Gangloff's Sruti and Kaily Shenker's sonorous Cello, the entirely original and entirely live performances resonate with both open melody and a cloud of thick string overtones, whether on the more upbeat tracks like "Ironto Dancer" or the epic 11-plus minute LP closer "Helen's Song." "September Air" is a slow, mournful build, the fiddle embroidering a minor key melody over the hum of the Surti box and a grave cello counterpoint. "A Fallen Palace of Snowville" is a solo performance where the additional sympathetic strings of the Hardanger fiddle are heavily heard as a ghostly accompaniment, while Mike's elegant melody moves from minor to major. "Helen's Song" closes side 2 with an intricate, ever-evolving swirl of melodic and harmonic invention, with Mike's vivid and languorous bow leading the way through multiple moods and sounds.
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