Megaliths
““...bolstered by breakbeat rhythms and satisfying spasmodic glitches””
People have long considered the monolith and the megalith as attempts to invoke the awe of that natural, near-mystical perfection. It seems then only natural in disciplines of art so abstracted from verbal or linguistic articulation that an artist should reach for a connection to, and representation of something less tangible and more intuitive to the shared human experience.
In Megaliths, we see one approach to addressing the challenge of how an artist might create compelling gestures in music, through specific intent, whilst also leaving the onus on the listener to glean meaning through their interpretation and perspective of rather than any specific intention of composer.
Megaliths represents a retrospective through the last four years of work from Daniel McGurty since his 2018 release, Faith Healer. This period covers two years living through the pandemic in Berlin and a return home to his native British Isles. A look through the track list reflects the disparate geographic locations, but more so the listener hears this through atmospheres and soundscapes represented within the pieces.
Numerous elements of Megaliths were recorded in the field with a handheld microphone, from the Scottish Highlands, to Berliner Dom, a flight path from the now closed Tegel Airport and from within the water of the Moray Firth. Megaliths is an album that aims to position the listener within an impressionist soundscape associated with place, these places having a fundamental meaning directing the intention of the work.
Megaliths too offers a perspective on personal history. Aiming to strike parallels between religious belief, agnosticism and mysticism in attempting to explain or fill the gap in our understanding of the world. In particular Megaliths is a continuation from where Faith Healer left off, addressing Daniel McGurty's agnosticism following a religious upbringing. an Drochshaol looks more closely at McGurty's Gaelic heritage, recognising the struggle that met those who fled Ireland during the great hunger.
Most of all, Megaliths is an attempt to invite the listener to lose themselves within music. Megaliths makes no demand of the listener but a willingness to listen.