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by the trees that he has spent time next too. Some poets are inspired to wander lonely as a cloud, other artists dip sheep in formaldehyde, this one was content to sit quietly in woodland and pick up on the pulse and rhythms of the natural world, and the result is this CD.
Paul plays all the instruments here himself, a collection of 100% organic (his words) acoustic instruments that include guitars, flute, recorder, mandolin, zither, and percussion.

Due to the instruments involved and to some degree the nature of the man behind them, much of the music has a very medieval feel to it but in no way seems twee or contrived, the subject mater and the music seem to complement each other. Other songs seem to capture a more oriental theme and the more flute orientated tunes such as that inspired by the Aspen have a dreamy fantasy quality, the common theme is that they feel timeless, beautiful and inspired. Guitars are lightly picked, mandolins brush past and flutes whisper in the background, all is very understated and undemanding. It is probably the natural sounds and under produced finish that makes this work sound as if you are sat next to the player in some secluded glade, and image I'm sure Paul would approve of. It is not necessary to describe each track as they are all of a similar nature, but there is enough originality and individual spirit to each as to make them all stand on their own. In the background are other woodland sounds, birds and wind noises, which help to carry you back to the place where the music was made. These inspirational passages seem to take music in a full circle back to its original function, as a devotional offering to the earth itself. Whether you see this music as just some sort of relaxation music or something more ingrained in the soul is again down to the individual listener, but in a world that is moving ever from green to concrete grey in colour just keeping the image of the wild places alive is reason enough for making an album such as this. In keeping with the spirit of the whole concept of the project 10% of the profit will be donated to The International Tree Foundation.

Obviously the laid back and relaxing nature of the music makes it anything but a "getting ready for a Friday night out" sort of record, but neither is it lacking in energy and light, but it is in a form that you don't often find in our urban lives. It is music that is best appreciated whilst sat in the greenery itself, either whilst lounging in the back garden, wandering through the park, or better still walking through the open woods. It may even inspire like-minded people to try and find their own sounds from the natural world, interpret and document their own feelings for such a concept. Now that would be something.

http://www.musicofth etrees.co.uk/listen.html

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