Thalassocracy

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Thalassocracy consists of songs Andrew King usually performs unaccompanied, mainly of a nautical theme.
They were initially recorded as unaccompanied performances in late 2006, after which the Art group Brown Sierra constructed suitable arrangements for each song, from which they and King, in close collaboration, devised final arrangements over the subsequent 18 months.

This is an unashamedly “difficult” album, an experiment that includes field recordings, Musique concrète, and home made tone generators, the 70 minutes of which (consisting of four instrumentals, six arranged songs and one unaccompanied song) add up to what is probably the most left-field album of traditional songs in existence.

Nonetheless, it was not the artists’ intention that this release should simply be an exercise in experimentation for experimentations sake, but rather that its should be an exercise in seeing what could be produced by the happy combination of two conceptual artists – who have a knowledge and understanding of vernacular culture – working in close collaboration with an expert in traditional song, who has a knowledge of, background in, and understanding of experimentation.
AS such it is a release that avoids such glib categorisations as experimental, improve, traditional, folk, or neofolk.

The CD was mastered by Hunter Barr And comes with a 12 page lyric booklet.

01. HMS Advance [i] 2:47
02. Nancy of Yarmouth 7:05
03. Banks of Green Willow 5:18
04. The Good Luck Ship 4:01
05. Polly on the Shore 7:40
06. HMS Resolution [i] 3:37
07. Nelson’s Death [u] 5:49
08. HMS Audacious [i] 5:23
09. The Captains Apprentice 5:33
10. The Dark Eyed Sailor 5:00
11. The Bold Princess Royal 5:20
12. The Bonnie Bunch of Roses 8:30
13. HMS Defiant [i] 4: 21

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