Cat Tyson Hughes * Zakè

CAT TYSON HUGHES – ROSES IN THE CASEMENT WINDOW

I’m ashamed to admit: this one was left on the shelf for far too long. Roses In The Casement Window was already released in mid-December 2023 – and sold out quickly. The Quiet Details label even did a second run (announced on May, 8) but this is also gone by now.
But there’s still the digital download – so I guess this album is still worth mentioning for those of you who may have missed it too.

Cat Tyson Hughes is a new name for me. This is her third album, following her (self-released) debut in 2019, and the follow-up Crossing Water in 2023 (on Past Inside The Present). If you picture in your mind some Roses In The Casement Window, you may already have an idea how the music sounds. It is all very gentle, peaceful, and dreamlike – with Cat’s ethereal voice, sampled and stretched and used as an instrument, layered over ‘clouds and waves of sonic bliss, with constant movement and endless layers overlapping to create soundscapes that have the potential to transport you to another place.‘
Most of the music is created and performed by Tyson Hughes herself, but four of the (nine) tracks are collaborations with ‘label mates’ Zakè, Marine Eyes (Cynthia Bernard), Fields We Found, and Jim McDonald.

‘In Cat’s own words this is ‘about childhood imagination and having the chance to live the simplest childhood dreams as an adult”.

ZAKÈ – DOLERE

From the collaboration track with Cat Tyson Hughes (above) it’s a natural step to Zakè‘s newest album Dolere. Zakè is the alias of Zach Frizell, the prolific ‘droner’ who released no less than 49 albums since 2019, and who also runs the labels of Past Inside The Present, Healing Sound Propagandist and Zakè Drone Recordings.
Dolere, however, is not released on any of these: it is released on Joachim Spieth’s Affin label.

The album presents two long-form drone tracks: Dolere and Dolera. There is a ‘small but significant linguistic difference’ in these two words: Dolera comes from the Latin ‘dolor’, which describes anguish or fear; Dolore is its present tense, infinitive form.
Like the words itself, the two tracks have a slightly different atmosphere: one somewhat darker than the other. But – as perhaps expected from this drone master – both tracks set a comfortable atmosphere, the ‘trademark analog hiss’ locking out unwanted outside noises, and the tracks long enough to help you forget about time.

In Zakè‘s own words: “This year, my life came to a halt, as if the Spring froze in its tracks; amidst the heaviness I longed for reprieve, and to escape the relentless march forward. These tracks serve as a refuge for those burdened by distraction or sorrow, offering a brief respite from the inexorable passage of time.”