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ETT

by Row Boat

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  • ETT - Compact Disk (CD)
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    With artwork by A.Rippon, K.Wardale & D.Tuttle

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1.
Ett 01:41
2.
Prova 06:06
3.
Frostavallen 03:00
4.
Rädslan 06:44
5.
6.
7.
Aurora 07:20
8.
Igloo 07:05
9.
Kämpaglöd 06:33
10.
Annika 03:43

about

RELEASE DATE 10th SEPTEMBER 2013
BOTTLE IMP PRODUCTIONS

'Ett' is the incredible full length debut album from Row Boat and follow up to the successful 2012 EP 'Svaret är ja'', which drew interest in the UK and US.

Row Boat is an ambient/post rock project, which has been active seen 2009. The music is written, arranged and played by Mark Wardale which can be described as ethereal layers that meet crashing Post-Rock with horns and strings. Much of his work is based on geographical and Scandinavian references.

The first release was August 3rd 2009, in the shape of the four track ambient EP 'Romance'. The tracks were minimalist, ethereal and instrumental, as much of Row Boat's previous work has been. Following this, was another release of 'Svaret är ja' , translating to 'The answer is yes'. The six tracks drew from the ambience of the first Row Boat EP and added elements of Post-Rock; a transition that was slowly being added to Mark Wardale's songwriting. This release attracted attention from companies in the UK and US, prompting Mark to begin work on a full length debut album and continue to add the post-rock transition into his music whilst keeping the ambience and beautifully haunting atmospheres that brought the layers together.

Ett was produced by Mark Wardale.

MORE INFORMATION:
www.rowboat.bottle-imp.com
www.bottle-imp.com

PREVIOUS RELEASES: Romance (2009) Svaret är ja (2012)

SOCIAL NETWORK LINKS:
facebook.com/thisisrowboat
twitter.com/rowboatmusic

Reviews:

Discovering new music is always beautiful, discovering great music is beautifully amazing. This is the case of me and my discovering of ETT. ETT is the last work and the first full-length album from Row Boat, the ambient/post rock solo project of the British musician Mark Wardale . I’m listening to it again and again and I still don’t how it is possible that I didn’t know him before!

In 2009, Mark Wardale began composing ambient music after years of writing and playing in bands and his first EP, Romance, is a good point to start diving into the Row Boat’s music world. Three years later, the British artist composed a new EP titled Svaret är ja (The answer is yes) and now, with ETT, Mark has definitely gained a place in the ambient/post rock music scene.

The music of Mark Wardale is a combination of ethereal and sweeping layers whilst incorporating strings and horns to an alternative rock genre. Sometimes I recognize Hammock influences, sometimes Sigur Ros influences. By the way Mark has been able to create an album that is really unique in its genre.

ETT is a wonderful collection of 10 songs, each one with its own character through which Mark has encapsulated a world of serenity and melancholia. From the very first track you will be transported to that daydreaming land where this album takes place.

The album opens with the title track and immediately you’ll get into a sound full of lush, rich and deep ambient textures, stretching and warping through piano notes. The first track works like an interlude to the album: just one minute and a half and it’s the turn of ‘Prova’ that follows a similar pattern of the previous song with a beautiful crescendo and the addition of some unique reversed vocals sparse here and there, elements that Mark uses very often throughout the whole album.
The following ‘Frostavallen’ is a playful experimental lullaby. I particularly enjoy ‘Radslan’ which has a piece of Iceland inside and makes me think of the beautiful landscapes you see through the window when you travel across that beautiful island.

The contemplative ‘Fix Your Bones’ has a lot of beauty and melancholy inside; there’s light and there’s darkness. It’s a work of art. ‘By Winter’s Night’ instead is the romantic soundtrack to a night walk into the foggy and intimate atmosphere of a lovely countryside. The pure ambient songs, ‘Aurora’ and ‘Igloo’, announce and celebrate the sunrise. Sun is shining and light is everywhere. Diving into these two songs is like floating in a ocean of sun light. It’s ethereal, it’s relaxing, it’s piece of mind. ‘Kampaglod’ brings a load of melodic pulses to the album. I especially enjoy the drumming here and the wonderful bass line. ‘Kampaglod’ is a jewel box and you will most likely adore it. The peak of the album is also the intro to the stunning closing track, ‘Annika’.

‘Annika’ is a matter of pure intimacy, is reflective, is your personal experience with yourself. This song is so intense and goes so deeper that can really be what you want. ‘Kampaglod’ and ‘Annika’, together, are ten minutes of pure beauty.
There is a lot more I could say about this album starting from the fact that I’m really happy to be here reviewing it, proclaiming my new great discovery to the world of music lovers and letting you know that this is an album you must own. Start diving into the Row Boat’s music world and I’m sure it will gain a place into your favorite playlist. - Daniela Patrizi, Echoes And dust

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After releasing two well-received EPs, Mark Wardale has applied the lessons learned to his first full-length album, a widescreen work whose intensity hides the fact that all this is the work of a single man: horns, strings, guitars, drums. As cold as a Scandanavian winter, Ett drips texture and nuance like tree sap. Shortwave radio and the winding of a clock imply stoic isolation, the type that might inspire a man to slowly, meticulously, re-create the work of an orchestra. And yet, if classified by season, Ett is also a mirror of melt and reengagement: the hermit shaving, returning to town, pulling up a seat with the locals and hoisting a cup of mead. The ghosts of Sigur Rós are present, especially in the occasional vocals, something to watch on subsequent recordings. But the most beautiful moments – the dark piano and underwater warbles of “Fix Your Bones”, the studied ambience and late bloom of “By Winter’s Night” – are all his own. And by highlight “Kämpaglöd”, everything white has vanished, replaced by bouquets of green. - A Closer Listen

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”ETT” is the latest effort and first full length album from Row Boat, the ambient/post rock project of Mark Wardale. As enjoyable as were the EPs, ”Romance” and “Svaret är ja”, “ETT” unfurls the full scope and power of Mark’s creative vision and it arrives as a significant and ear-catching contribution in an increasingly crowded field. At times delicately nuanced, at others epic and bombastic, “ETT” is an outstanding multi-faceted album that brings together a number of diverse genre aesthetics and has real growing power.

The title track opens the album and sets a tone of bold and stark beauty by evoking a vivid wintry landscape through the sound of blustering winds, plaintive strings, human voice, and a plethora of other textures. ‘Prova’ then builds on this as the first full length track. It begins with some unique reversed vocals which Mark uses sparingly and effectively in various places on “ETT”. They sound a bit odd to the ear at first, but soon become indispensable to the song and serve as a focal point for the melody as the song builds to a thunderous crescendo that instantly gives the album serious post rock credibility.

From here the intersections and variations between evocative soundscapes and rousing instrumental rock are masterfully developed and sequenced. The hauntingly beautiful ‘Frostavallen’ is followed by the epic peaks and valleys of ‘Radslan’. The contemplative ‘Fix Your Bones’ is followed by the melodic romanticism of ‘By Winter’s Night’. The album then downshifts to a pure ambient mode with ‘Aurora’ and ‘Igloo’ before rising up to what I consider the showpiece of the album, ‘Kampaglod. This track has wonderful melodic pulse, a snarling bass line, and is driven by a fabulous drum riff. It is perfectly placed on the album to deliver wide-eyed catharsis before easing you home with a long, delicate outro and into the reflective closing track, ‘Annika’.

I was glad to be able to spend a good amount of time with this album before reviewing it. I found it yielded new rewards and deeper satisfaction with each and every listen, which is the sign of an album that was constructed with great care and emotional investment and built up with many well thought out layers. It fires the imagination, touches the emotions, and always stays interesting. It manages to be eclectic and maintain a sense of wonder and mystery while always remaining accessible and engaging. - Stationary Travels

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The title track begins with this persistently eerie sound, like the sonic equivalent to a Scandinavian chill. I think of the ghosts of countless Vikings lost at sea, drifting about, frozen for all eternity. There’s an Old Norse legend in which the world doesn’t end with any one violent catastrophe, but just a very, very long snowfall that buries us all forever. In such an event, “Ett” wouldn’t be a bad tune to have for company.

The latter part of the track “Prova” erupts into this glorious, weird symphony.

“Radslan” starts off barely within the realm of perception, and gradually builds itself into a lively and highly-percussive piece. It then closes on the same sort of ultra-soft note with which it began.

“Fix Your Bones” kinda sounds like an Alice in Chains song, but that’s where the similarity ends. In this track, haunting bits of piano and synthesizer take turns, and then sometimes battle for listening supremacy.

Though it eventually climbs the decibel meter, “By Winter’s Night” remains quite gentle throughout.
There’s something devotional, perhaps even monkish, about the track “Igloo.” In fact, one might say as much regarding the album on the whole. - Ray Cavanaugh, SkopeMag

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"Enter a world of composed of breathtaking mystique full of wondrous soundscapes" - Jimmy Rae Jr

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"Incredible ambient/post-rock masterpiece" - Douglas Garnett

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credits

released September 10, 2013

Artwork by A.Rippon & K.Wardale.
Additional layout & typography by D.Tuttle

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Some rights reserved. Please refer to individual track pages for license info.

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about

Row Boat North Ferriby, UK

Row Boat is multi-instrumentalist songwriter and TV/Film composer Mark Wardale. He combines post-rock/ambient music in the form of ethereal and sweeping layers whilst incorporating strings, piano, bowed guitars and horns.

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