Pieter Nooten - Haven

  by Mark Rowland

published: 11 / 4 / 2013

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Review

Dutch composer Pieter Nooten’s career spans almost four decades, first playing various instruments in a series of bands before finding some success with Clan of Xymox, an electronically tinged goth band. Since leaving the band in the early 90s, Nooten moved into dance music before moving into writing for commercials, theatre, and various forms of media. He returned to music in 2006, creating cinematic electronic music; sparse, but accessible. ‘Haven’ is his fifth album since returning to music, and his third for UK indie label Rocket Girl. It’s a double album, twenty tracks, many built around the same theme. The two discs are almost two movements of the same piece, though you could equally view it as the score to an unmade film. Each track on ‘Haven’ maintains a consistently languid pace, washing over you like a gently crashing wave. Nooten builds and releases tension, rather than playing too much with the tempo. His arrangements, however, span many styles, from the ambient end of prog rock to leftfield electronica to Eastern inflected world music. Overwhelmingly, this is optimistic music, Nooten predominantly wading in warm sounds, tones and textures.

Track Listing:-

1 here is light I
2 slowed I
3 transit
4 the waiting I
5 paik theme I
6 der abschied
7 unbroken I
8 overflight
9 the waiting II
10 the long goodbye I
11 slowed II
12 paik theme II
13 unbroken II
14 the long goodbye II
15 here is light II
16 slowed III
17 unbroken III
18 different planet
19 paik theme III
20 el encuentro

Band Links:-

http://www.pieternooten.com/home.html
https://www.facebook.com/Pieter-Nooten
https://www.youtube.com/user/pieternoo
https://twitter.com/nooten
https://plus.google.com/11664428329533

Label Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/RocketGirlRec
http://www.rocketgirl.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/rocketgirlmusic