Parasol Peak

Since popularising the hang drum – a melodic percussion instrument, and cousin to the steel pan – at the turn of the millennium, Manu Delago has collaborated with Björk, the Cinematic Orchestra and Anoushka Shankar. His recent solo projects signalled a more electronic direction, particularly 2016's Metromonk, yet his latest venture offers a return to acoustic instrumentation and to his familial roots.

Parasol Peak is in fact both a film and an album. Inspired by the Austrian Alps near Delago's home in Tyrol, the resultant compositions were written for an ensemble who then climbed Parasol Peak with Delago to perform them in situ. The film is remarkable, but most importantly the project stands up sonically on its own merit. The agitations of ‘Parasol Woods’ are full of promise, yet as the ensemble progresses the music becomes more expansive. Found sounds are incorporated and the trickling rivers that pervade the stunning ‘Alpine Brook’ seep into stark winds on ‘Ridge View’, acting as a sonic bed for Delago's pensive hang lines and the delicate woodwinds of Georg Gratzer. At times, Parasol Peak can feel very lonesome, and this is entirely fitting. The jubilation captured in its title-track upon reaching the summit is an overwhelming release. This isn't simply sonic documentation of a hike. Rather, it's a profoundly musical journey.