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Andrew Chalk

Chalk has been active in the experimental music scene for over twenty years now, performing with artists like David Jackman (of Organum), Christoph Heemann (as Mirror), Jonathan Coleclough and even The New Blockaders, yet, for some reason, I've only very recently heard of his work as a solo artist. I realize there was a slower period in his career after the early days, yet still, knowing my love of ambient music, I'm surprised this hasn't wound up in my collection sooner. Truth be told, I had read a few reviews of his work with Mirror and became immediately fascinated by what it might sound like. But after a few investigations and noticing how everything they made was incredibly expensive (CDs are rarely under thirty bucks - limited editions CDs and LPs go for astronomical sums), I sort of reluctantly put aside my hopes of going further without ruining myself. This is one of those cases, where I didn't even have to listen to any of it, just from the descriptions, I KNEW I would love it. So on a lazy winter afternoon's impulsive shop moment, I found it in a local store and decided I'd give it a try... and lo and behold... this music is fantastic! Along with William Basinski, Chalk is easily the most fascinating creator of ambient music out there today!

Extremely gentle and pleasant, soporific yet completely alien, putting on a Chalk CD is like a five hour massage and sauna for the ears. The new age crowd might get a kick out of this as some of it is very close in spirit to some of Brian Eno's ambient work, but like the master himself, Chalk doesn't give-in to easy monotonous crystal-worshipping fluff; this music is constantly haunting, hazy and ghostly, yet warm and cozy, like listening to the morning dew could it emit sound. I don't know where I'm going with my collection of Chalk's work yet, but I feel so at home within these sounds that I doubt I'll be able to afford living without hearing more of his homemade bliss.

Like many experimental artists today, Chalk has many side projects (Isolde, Mirror, The Innocents) and often collaborates with other musicians, including japanese composer Daisuke Suzuki (both as a duo and the trio that is Ghosts On Water - with both Daisuke and Naoko Suzuki).

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