Painting in the Dark By RH Fox

 

Painting in the Dark

By

RH Fox

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

This is a strange experience for me as Robert is a friend of mine who I once met here in Cyprus many years back and have literally seen him emerging stage by stage as a musician of eager talent, to an artist of great skill, apart from that he is a very nice person and he deserves all the plaudits he is most certainly going to get from the release of his brand new debut album Painting In The Dark, under his chosen name R.H. Fox.

If I tell you, that the album is utterly supported by both the legendary David Lanz and his wife Kristin Amarie, you will then understand the kudos it already gets. The opening piece is a fine example of the brilliance that is about to unfold and called Follow the Creek featuring Charlie Bisharat. There is a beautiful nostalgia here, one that the piano of Fox emphasises so well, it establishes the harmonic environment and keeps the piece moving, whilst the Bisharat violin floats above the piano with long, lyrical phrases.

Reflections of Yesterday is one of my favourite offerings from the album; its wistful quality is almost dreamlike in its tonal delights, the melodic structure is also fascinating, creating a juxtaposition of light and shade, while the darker harmonic material suggests memory, regret, or distance, as the brighter segments feels like the present moment briefly illuminating that memory, this is a very attractive offering indeed and very well arranged.

The Mystic features the vocal talents of Kristin Amarie early on; here Fox manifests a real masterpiece of great skill and instrumental magic and features Nicolas Ntimas on Greek bouzouki. This track also released as a single is a fine example of globally infused music. It isn't simply new-age piano with some ethnic instruments added. The Mediterranean instruments fundamentally alter the harmonic and rhythmic atmosphere, thus a true masterpiece is created.

On Passage of Time we have a horse of a total different colour, the more melodic and soothing side of the artist is explored, a more melancholic taste is explored too. The piano is particularly important here because it can represent the clock-like continuity of time without literally sounding like a clock, the violin seems to dance around the clock and in doing so a tempting pastiche of harmonic bliss is created.

That all important part of the album is up next the title header as we reach Painting in the Dark, note the defined usage of electronic instrumentation in this offering, one may find it strange, but it works well and manifests an intriguing composition. This is a fine representation of the meaning behind the artist’s love of photography and music, so think of all the textures here as colours being added.

Visions Never Seen is one of the pretty tracks from the album; however one can tell the influences and one can perhaps enjoy imagining something that exists internally before it can be seen externally. An interesting aside here, especially with what is to come, but through the album I could feel and sense Beatles energy, a Beatles flavour, particularly in the melodic sensibility. Singable, rounded melodic phrases rather than purely ambient motifs, a melody that feels simple on the surface but harmonically richer underneath, there are unexpected melodic turns that give the phrase a slightly wistful, bittersweet quality, the sense that the melody could almost be sung as a pop song, even though the track is instrumental, well done Mr Fox.

Crane Dance is up next and in the deeper weave of the song, this is a truly beautiful composition, one can feel the force of Lanz, it is strong in this one! A lyrical, immediately accessible piano melody rather than an abstract ambient theme can be found here, the time signatures and structured performance is utterly incredible and emulates the creature’s movement perfectly, where perhaps one can find a sense of sentimentality without becoming overtly dramatic, a very classy piece.

Here is that aforementioned moment I was eluding to earlier, Free as a Bird, the song itself was written in 1977 by John Lennon who wrote and recorded the original home demo, several years after The Beatles had broken up. Here RH Fox produces a wonderfully lyrical version of a fantastic song for us all to enjoy, the piano allows the emotional material to settle rather than insisting on a big final statement.

The concluding narrative is entitled Seabirds' Lament and is the perfect parting gift for us all; there is a wonderfully illuminated sense of reflection deep in the weave of this glorious arrangement. Fox leans into loss, solitude, and the passing of something beautiful, perhaps Fox creates the sensation of watching something disappear into the distance, in an amazing finishing arrangement for the album.

Painting in the Dark by RH Fox is that album that might well make a difference in the genre, it’s like a diamond, and it has many facets and shines gloriously in tone and timbre. Fox should be proud of this and remember for ever, there has been a lot of time care and energy put into this great album and it thoroughly deserves all the love it gets, I’m predicting a very high chart placement and a bright future ahead for Painting in the Dark by RH Fox.