Eugene Carchesio & Leighton Craig – Leaves (Naturestrip)

Everybody loves hanging out in their garden on a warm summers day. If for example you live in Brisbane and the birds are singing, the sun is shining and there is a light warm breeze, out under the trees is probably the coolest place to be and that’s where Eugene Carchesio and Leighton Craig have recorded Leaves. Beginning with some gentle organ, there’ sparse instrumentation, in which Mother Nature plays an important role alongside cicadas, lorikeets, aeroplanes, crows, clarinet and the ever-present wind and a bunch of other toys and instruments. It’s such simple calming and beautiful work it immediately transports you to their soothing world. There’s a relaxed almost playful sense of structure that’s remensicent of Yoshimi and Yuka (Ipecac) who climbed a mountain in Japan to connect nature to their music, however the familiarity of the surrounds and the warmth of the day no doubt contribute to making Leaves much more relaxed and low key.