My Autumn Empire - The Visitation (2014)

My Autumn Empire is the project of Benjamin Thomas Holton, one half of critically celebrated post-pop pastoralists, epic45. Following albums The Village Compass (2010) and II (2012) The Visitation is arguably the most conceptual album yet and continues a sonic progression which further distils an exquisite electro-acoustic melancholy alongside 70's tinged dream-pop. Since he began making music, Holton has strived to push the quality of DIY self-production to its limits by crafting original works at home and self releasing through co-founded indie labels such as Make Mine Music and Wayside & Woodland. It's this independent spirit that continues to drive his work and, except for some drum parts, Holton handles all instrumentation and production. The Visitation takes its name from an early 80's Doctor Who story in which an alien crash lands on Earth and was part of the inspiration for the album, but Holton expands on the concept with humour and draws a comparison to real life events that affected him at the time.