Shanyio – Hedera Helix (Hiss And Groove)

Shanyio is no stranger to Thoughts Words Action blog. We had a chance to review his previous brilliant work called C and this time Shanyio is pushing borders with another great tape called Hedera Helix. Alexandru once again gathered a lot of great musicians to contribute on his latest piece of art, so this time he collaborated with Thomas Almadi and Emil Kindlein who both contributed with percussions, Rui Bonito who performed on Casio Sa21 and reel tape, Loalue who done electronics and mixing of the material while the Shanyio performed on cello, shakuhachi, Appalachian dulcimer, layered all the effects and done the rest of the mixing. Shanyio catches all the rawness of the ambient music mixed with brilliantly produced instruments by developing an eerie atmosphere pleasant to the ears, without any disturbing noises who might spoil listening experience. His knowledge of etno music gives advantage in his favor, so the presence of those elements is common during the entire album, but only in fragments. These etno fragments sometimes play the key role in Shanyio’s music and sometimes they’re just a small layer implemented just as a pure decoration to the rest of the compositions. Cello as an instrument plays a big part in Hedera Helix and I assume that all the drone sounds are recorded and processed by a cello. Also, percussions are right up my alley and sometimes they define the tempo, especially with cymbals, so these additions to the compositions definitely give the special treatment to the overall impression. A lot of layers of sounds are enriched with bits and pieces of delay and reverb effects, so they are also a great contribution to the atmospheric feel of the Hedera Helix. Another great tape performed by Alexandru Hegyesi, the man who played the biggest part of Shanyio and I am more than positive all the listeners will recognize the true potential of his talent if you purchase and listen to his Hedera Helix which is published by the Hiss And Groove Records.