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ONTARIO BLUE
ONTARIO BLUE is the solo project of Stephen Pennick of Endura. Much of Stephen's solo work has previously found its way onto Endura albums but he is now also establishing his reputation as a solo artist. 'Ontario Blue' was taken from the title of a painting and was chosen because it is suggestive of "mountains, lakes, clean air and solitude". Two cassette tapes, a CD and numerous compilation tracks have so far been produced. MAINLINE (Demo tape) Mainline (1996) certainly demonstrates Stephen's versatility. Two of the tracks ('Black Operations' and 'Love from Afar') also appear on the En Comm Lvxvria cassettes, but the other ten are exclusive to this album. 'Land Fever' has that epic synth-classical style of Endura's more focused pieces, but shorn of the ritualistic context which is so much a feature of the duo's work. Other tracks range from slow ballads ('Suzanne' - nice tune, 70s feel; 'Keepers Of Time') through electronic ('Orbitron' and 'Envy The Dead') to gothic rock ('919555'). 'She's Been Gone A Long Time' is another ballad, with singing reminiscent of Brendan Perry of Dead Can Dance. The closing track, 'Goodbye' has a strongly Celtic-ambient style. This cassette is more varied but correspondingly less focused than Endura, but after a number of similarly themed Endura albums this is no bad thing. SHINE (Demo tape) Unlike Mainline, which was a diverse collection of recordings made over an extended period, Shine (1996 LVX004) is the stylistically focused product of a much shorter period. The style is obviously connected to that of Endura and also to DCD which was the linking inspiration of the Endura collaboration. The first track, 'Chant of the Forgiven' is an effective ritualistic piece with tribal-sounding percussion, but it's invaded by and then overwhelmed by increasingly strident blasts of synth, symbolising perhaps the victory of technology over the naturalistic. 'Lost City' (track 2) has similar percussion. 'Don't Weep For Me' ( track 3) is a slow melancholic ballad with an acoustic guitar sound and powerful orchestral interludes, while 'This Mortal Coil' (track 4) is another ballad with varied synth accompaniments. 'Shadows' (track 5) begins with industrial noises but then approaches a sort of synth-pop style, albeit with deep-throated vocals. The quality and stylistic coherence of this tape puts Stephen's solo work on a par with Endura. Rik 29 September 1996. Updated: 29 November 1998 SHINE CD Tracks: 1. New Beginnings 7:09 total time: 59:10 All tracks written, recorded and produced by Stephen Pennick 1996 - January 1998 at Enlightenment House. Shine (1998 Dragon 04) is a reworking of the above demo with the inclusion of new tracks. Not quite as dark as Endura and contains more in the way of melody, which makes it more accessible. However, if anything the menace is even more than before. ‘New Beginnings’ sets the scene with wonderfully dark atmospheric synth forming a blanket for a one of Stephen's poems. After a couple of minutes the speech ominously dies away and a haunting piano melody pulls you down but then lifts you up again as it is joined by a sympathetic rhythm. ‘Chant of the Forgiven’ moans along with laid back tribal drumming providing structure until some heavy string stabs up the anti. ‘Mara’s Daughters’, with its almost angelic chords, forms a bridge to the next track. ‘Lost City’ with what sounds like a prayer in a strange language. Washes of synth and strange mutterings form underneath. More angelic sounding chords can be found at the beginning of ‘Change’, a quiet rhythm from a deep cavern then takes over. Another dark poem is centre stage though I hardly think it is a sonnet. The sound of a lone bell can be heard at the beginning of ‘Shadows’ then we get what could only be the song of some poor tormented sole complete with a melancholy piano melody. ‘Don’t Weep for Me’ uses a sweet acoustic guitar melody accompanied initially by some mad, almost childish, vocals. Proper words are chanted over the top but they are not exactly encouraging. ‘Memories of Tomorrow’ is another atmospheric bridge leading us to ‘This Mortal Coil’. With its beautiful plucked melody and the vocal passage saying “living is easy, dying is hard” it is my favourite track on the album. A sequence runs along and then an aggressive rhythm comes in as the singer cries “I want to live!”. What is this, optimism? Surely not! ‘Kali in Mine Eyes’ even sounds as though it is a poem from someone who has left the dark side behind and has painfully worked himself to the light, but no - he gets dragged down to the depths again. ‘Rise’ is an orchestral sounding number that rounds off the album. So to sum up, a wonderful album. Sort of Endura without the impaled virgins. DL - 29 November 1998 COMPILATION TRACKS 'Chant of the Forgiven' - included on the Xak Tsaroth - Cover Cassette - issue 1, 1997. (Fluttering Dragon / Poland) tsaroth@polbox.com 'Shadows' - included on the Paraphilia Worsh(wh)ip - Cover Disk CD, 1998. (Maintenance Records / Italy) manteinance@iol.it 'Don't Weep For Me' - included on the Storming the Palace - CD, 1998. (Palace of Worms / Italy)
All Ontario Blue releases are available from Enlightenment Communications. Stephen@encomm.freeserve.co.uk |
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