Haz - Above The Tree Line

[red moon]

All,

I've been on this board for over 5 years so thought I’d share with you fellow Boards fans news of the release of my debut EP which I think you may enjoy - “Above The Tree Line” by Haz just released on Herb Recordings.

Here is a snippet of one of the reviews:

The artist known as Haz makes music that could be described as real country music. No, not the twangy sentimental anthems that are commonly associated with the southern states ,but music that truly evokes the beauty of rural environments. Haz was born in Scotland but has since relocated to a farm on the Otago Peninsula located on the southernmost tip of New Zealand. His remote new home provided much of the inspiration for his latest EP Above The Tree Line which has just been released on Herb Recordings.

The 6 selections do indeed capture the wonders of life in the open air. Organic guitars and drums dovetail with electronic textures and the results could be compared to Boards Of Canada sitting around a campfire or the pastoral soundscapes of some of the recent Ghost Box releases. But while those artists often skew towards the darker end of sonic palette, the compositions on Above The Tree Line are welcoming and expansive, conjuring visions of brilliant skies, rolling hills, and ambling wildlife. Beneath the pretty, descending guitar melody of Hemisphere, there are watery, washy synths, chirping birds and sounds that crackle and squish like rural land underfoot.
Look At All The Colours’ drum rolls, wordless vocals and fuzzed-out guitar coasts along an OMD-like keyboard melody that wouldn’t seem out of place on a soundtrack to a John Hughes movie. One of the more significant aspects of Haz’s sound is how he invigorates the notion of ambient music through his use of spry, vivacious percussion, especially on cuts like Avalanche At Kea Point and Albatross Wingspan. Clocking in at just under 23 minutes, Above The Tree Line certainly leaves one in anticipation of embarking on lengthier, future expeditions with Haz.

http://halcyonline.com/2010/featured-re ... ecordings/


Another review here:

Haz is a Scots expatriate who lives down under. Above the Treeline was conceived and recorded on the South Island of New Zealand last year and immediately struck me as the sound of someone in awe and in love with his surroundings. The six instrumentals are all under four and a half minutes long, but nevertheless sound epic in scale. Haz combines electronics and live instrumentation (drums, guitars etc) to produce a sound that is upbeat, largely uptempo and melodic but not without a certain wistfulness. For comparisons, think of a sound somewhere between Eno’s classic seventies albums, Dif Juz, New Order and Haz’s labelmate Engine7.

It’s a lovely little set. It’s not often I hear mini LPs that I wished were longer, but this one falls into that category. Beautiful cover painting too.

http://dezji.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/h ... -treeline/

Intrigued?

Can here preview/buy tracks here:
http://www.amazon.com/Above-The-Tree-Li ... 680&sr=8-6

or on iTunes
http://itunes.apple.com/album/above-the ... mpt=uo%3D1

or
http://boomkat.com/downloads/339358-haz ... -tree-line

Here’s, a bio on the record label site
http://www.herbrecordings.com/haz.html

Lastly here is the haz facebook page if you like:
http://www.facebook.com/Haz.music

Enjoy! (best listened to on headphones!)

Cheers
haz

[red moon]

Meant to say - a better way to hear some of the full tracks on the EP is here on SoundCloud:

http://soundcloud.com/hazsounds

[wmarsh]

I find it genuinely hard to listen to because it's mixed so loud.

[Skytree]

Don't have that problem personally. Love this beautiful EP. (: