Hilgrove Kenrick is a composer and producer. His music dwells in the ambience. In the moments, in the pieces of time and their details that form. There is an energy to it, a modal swell till it all radiates, coming out of the soundscape and becoming a vivid presence. His latest release is ‘Sylph’ in collaboration with Nick Norton Smith. The EP forms in four parts, each one adding to the expanse of the world that he builds across the collection.
Hey! Congratulations on the release of ‘Sylph’. It’s such an interesting EP, especially because of its conceptual and artistic depth. Tell us a little bit about what you set out to achieve with it? And what is the significance of the theme?
We knew we wanted to work together and that the project would involve a whole new sonic world of space and expanse, so we looked for an overarching theme. Fairly rapidly we settled on spirits, the connections with earth, air, water, something to anchor our explorations.
The title track introduces the set. Its slow melodic bloom, set against a backdrop of serene synths and ethereal swirls is perfect to calm the mind. You can have it on when you want to slow down, to find your presence and cultivate it. The main melodic stem, a saxophone, is like a floating feather in the wind. It is carried by the breeze, but also lilts and suspends and just exists. It lingers before it rises or falls, and has a soft dance of its own. That’s what you get with this track. A soft ambient melodic dance. It fills up the space around you, one moment, one air molecule at a time, and seems to flatten the whole plane into a calm line.
The EP features Nick-Norton Smith. How did the collaboration come about and how did he contribute towards the vision that you had for this collection?
We were introduced by the brilliant Jay Mistry in that most salubrious of premises – the British pub. A brief chat at the bar turned into a longer conversation and the shared desire to have a crack at something together – to mix our sensibilities and composers and performers and see if we could find something new.
‘Nymph’ is up next. The saxophone melodic texture flows from the predecessor into this one. With the rounded sound of the saxophone, soothing and easing into this space, the artists explore something so magically light. Twinkling melodies, luminous echoes, and a shimmering horizon, all of it points to a fantastical place. It journeys towards this, with no haste or urgency. Just a floating pleasure, like it has all the time in the world.
When you think about ambient music, what’s the appeal? How do you go about writing and composing them? What do you have in mind? And what do you want your listeners to take away from it?
Restraint, restraint, restraint. Trusting the notes and the sound world to hold you up. We’re both used to throwing lots of busyness, lots of notes and shifting harmonies at projects. For this we very much wanted to strip things back. We knew it would ultimately be in Dolby Atmos so we had the whole spatial world to play in, the sound to immerse the listener in, what mattered was to drill down to keeping things unhurried, simple, elegant and enjoy that space.
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‘Salamander’ follows. The saxophone melody has more of an expression in this one. A spread out jazz energy that is pleasing in how smoothly it forms. By the time you get to this track, you’re sunk, deep into the momentous evolutions. It feels like you can feel time stand still. And it’s beautiful. It’s not that you’re frozen. But you’re present and loving it. There’s no fight, no escape.
There’s a lot of abstract elements within the EP. The spaces that the melodies occupy are so expansive and interesting! How do they bring out the unique song titles?
They were our anchors, but yes very abstract. It was about trusting the process, trusting each other to bring our unique skills to the table, and allowing the process to flow in its own time. And occasionally sitting back and just listening to what we’ve created and ensuring we were still focussed on those anchors.
It’s as if you’re touched by the fragility of life in real time. ‘Undine’ concludes the EP. With huge frames of melody and resonance, you’re just suspended in the abstract expanse. Like you’re floating on your back, light sun in your face with nothing to do, nothing to worry about. It’s just you moving through time. The saxophone melody in this is softly expressive, forming at the base with fresh expression.
When it comes to intuition and intention, what would you say drives your music? And how would you distinguish between these two in your creative process?
Humanity, openness, kindness, humility, honesty, empathy – ultimately, feelings, then communication between us and being able to talk openly with each other about what we think works and doesn’t. Thankfully there’s more of the former!
These tracks are made to soundtrack activities like sky gazing, people watching, meditative art, contemplation, journalling, or just reflection. Despite their unintrusive and weightless nature, they compel you to go deeper. There’s a lot of epiphanic material that when you delve into is rewarded. A perspective opens up or a peace floods you. It’s like a feeling that fits your soul, whatever you need it to be.
What are some of your upcoming projects/ future releases?
We both have releases due soon, but we’re particularly excited that we’re collaborating again on a surprise for Christmas time. Keep watching and listening!
The EP is available for streaming on popular sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music!
You can listen to ‘Sylph’ by Hilgrove Kenrick and Nick Norton Smith here –
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