Kinbrae - Landforms (2019)

"Landforms sounds quietly majestic, like an ancient river slowly carving out nooks and crannies into the landscape of your mind" - Monorail

"[...] each moment like another movement from the same symphony or tone poem" - The Skinny

“Kinbrae have achieved something which appears timeless, woven irrevocably into the natural environment, matching musically its cyclical rhythms, its physical dynamism” – Ravechild

‘Landforms’ is the second album by Scottish duo Kinbrae, the recording pseudonym of twins Andy and Mike Truscott, and this latest release follows the band’s acclaimed debut ‘Tidal Patterns’. The new album explores the River Tay, its surrounding landscape and the impact growing up on its banks had on the brothers.

Released on London-based label Truant Recordings, ‘Landforms’ builds on the band’s debut release and sees the brothers move away from the more traditional modern classical timbre of 'Tidal Patterns' into new territory. Built around Andy’s synthesizer and percussion and Mike’s brass melodies and harmonies the album also sees the band experiment with modular equipment, effected field recordings and sampling to create a sonically diverse and intriguing sound. The majority of the album was recorded at Edinburgh based musician Ben Chatwin's (Talvihorros) home studio, where the twins had the opportunity to be more sonically adventurous and use modular synthesizers and effects to shape much of the sounds on the album.

Tracks such as ‘Meander’ and ‘The River Awakens’ take the listener on a trip down the river from its source in the hills down to the open expanse of the North Sea. These tracks explore the variety in the temperament of the river from chaotic rapids down to the gentle expanses witnessed on a calm summer’s day. The brothers explore the reflective and healing powers of water in ‘The Bridge at Night’ while ‘Movement of Light’ and ‘Wave Propagation’ explore the movement of the water and waves themselves.

Collectively these water based tracks come together to form the overall ‘Landforms’ album, mirroring the way in which water itself forges natural features on the land, helping to give the music a sense of place.