Album of the Week: Andrew Thomas ‘Between Buildings & Trees’
news | Jan 27th, 2011 | View Comments
From the cover art (see below, after the jump), you might guess that Andrew Thomas’ new album, ‘Between Buildings & Trees’, was a release on ECM, the iconic jazz and classical label, home to the likes of Keith Jarrett and Arvo Pärt. From the minimalist graphics to the moody, black-and-white landscape photography, the sleeve is a dead ringer for the imagery favored by the Munich-based institution, which has established one of contemporary music’s most clearly defined aesthetics in its 40 years of operation.
Actually, the album comes out on a different German label, but one that, in its own way, is just as iconic: Cologne’s Kompakt. Thomas is a mainstay of the label’s annual Pop Ambient series, having featured on the compilation every year since 2004. This is his third album for the label, and it’s a gorgeous, easygoing, highly approachable example of Thomas’ contemplative electro-acoustic collage work.
