MUSIC: Alan Candy reviews 'ultimate de-stress tonic' Oktobe:r

The ultimate de-stress tonic for these tough times has come from two top Buckinghamshire musicians.
The cover of the new albumThe cover of the new album
The cover of the new album

Long-time pals and collaborators Danny Prendergast and Jerry Playle have combined their talents to produce a Christmas CD with a difference – a complete instrumental re-interpretation of nine traditional carols, plus two of their own compositions for good measure.

All of the music is played on just two acoustic guitars, which weave and interplay in a magical way.

As Danny says: ‘Now we are competing with the big boys – we love all the voicings and chords.’

Produced mainly from Jerry’s recording studio in Penn, the album ‘Meltwater’ comes under their stage name Oktobe:r – a play on words as the first six letters also make the words ‘OK to be’.

The only time most of us have heard carols is either sung by a choir or played by a brass band.

Meltwater takes the original musical themes of each song and weaves an entirely new thread through them. Each tune waits in the wings before shyly revealing itself and suddenly emerging into the listener’s consciousness – familiar themes take previously unknown twists and turns and appear on and off stage in a tantalising feast of relaxing music.

Both friends are top-level guitarists and each note is delineated with the sharpness of a winter icicle, complemented by subtle bass notes as warm as a Christmas log fire.

Absence of lyrics allows us to appreciate the sweetness, wistfulness and peace of the original tunes, glimpsed in a new light but always shining through, reminding us of their timelessness.

Inevitably, everyone will have their personal favourites of the 11 tracks on show. Angels from The Realms of Glory rings in the memory as a triumphant, lusty song belted out by a choir – here it pads along beautifully like a walk through the snow; We Three Kings switches seamlessly between major and minor keys in a majestic new light; Oh Little Town of Bethlehem is unhurried, measured and the sort of tune guaranteed to lull you to sleep after a Christmas lunch.

Deck The Halls is crystal clear and soft-pedalled while the album ends in fine style with their own composition, Twelve.

Danny, joint owner of Aylesbury Music, and Jerry, a luthier and professional musician, are an irresistible combination and this painstaking work, played on top-level Martin and Lowden acoustic guitars, shoots for the stars and achieves it in some style.

Meltwater, by Oktobe:r is available directly from Aylesbury Music in Temple Street, Aylesbury for £10 (from December 2) and also via Spotify, Amazon and iTunes.

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