My new EP Quiet Sunlight is out now on Dronarivm. It is available digitally and on 3″ CDR in a lovely box with autumnal inserts.

Quiet Sunlight is a suite of three warm and wistful tracks for slow autumn walks and fireside contemplation. Made with baby grand piano, Mellotron and Moog Grandmother, processed with modular and pedal effects, with a backdrop of field recordings from a wood in East London, a beach on the East coast of England and a forest in South Korea.

Thanks so much to Dronarivm and Fonodroom for putting this out and for the amazing packaging, George Korunov for the gorgeous artwork and Tobias Lorsbach for the mastering.

Dronarivm have also reissued my 2015 album Inscriptions on CD in digipak with updated artwork, and a discounted bundle is also available.

Credits

Written, recorded and mixed by Wil Bolton in East London, March – July 2024
Environmental sounds recorded in South Korea and the UK, 2023
Mastered by Tobias Lorsbach
Artwork by George Korunov

Reviews

“The acorns and leaves are piling up, and the yellow, orange and red hues have faded to a muted brown.  Filtered sunlight is shining through the foliage that remains.  Flocks are flying overhead; on the ground, the squirrels are burying their winter meals.  This is the perfect time to release Quiet Sunlight, a package that looks, smells and sounds like the season.  Due to the field recordings ‘from a wood in East London, a beach on the East coast of England and a forest in South Korea,’ when the music is played indoors, it sounds like the outdoors.

We love the description ‘random gifts from the autumn forest.’  Each package is unique.  When one walks through a forest, one never knows what one will find, a feeling replicated by Wil Bolton‘s music. There are birds, of course, tweeting their introduction to the title track and present throughout, as if commenting on the composer as he works.  Wind whistles through the trees while Bolton plays grand piano, conjuring the images of David Litchfield’s The Bear and the Piano.  The music sounds like a soft stroll, a pleasant reverie, the sojourner in no hurry to get home.  The ambient washes loop and twirl like leaves falling to the ground.

‘Zelkova’ (referring to the elm family) includes lovely vinyl crackle and hiss, akin to the rustle of footsweeps in fallen leaves.  The Mellotron sounds like wind chimes, conjuring images of an Asian temple. The very timbre is holy.  At the end, the music drops out, revealing the hum of the world. And in ‘The Falling Tide,’ Mother Nature meets Moog Grandmother, as water sounds proliferate and the sounds seem to echo and reverberate all around.  Perhaps more than any other season, autumn is three-dimensional in sound, the uncoupling above joined to the canopy below.  This beautiful set celebrates the senses of the season, and the quiet, simple moments of revelation.” – A Closer Listen

“Quiet Sunlight, the latest release by London-based artist Wil Bolton, captures the essence of autumn. Yellow slowly overtakes green on the cover art (George Korunov), while the title track unfolds with the chirping of birds, layers of synthesizers, and beautifully integrated piano tones.

The remaining two tracks, “Zelkova” and “The Falling Tide“, also rely on field recordings from the forests of East London and South Korea, as well as the sounds of beaches along England’s eastern coast. These recordings form the backdrop for slow and contemplative melodies, where acoustic and electronic instruments intertwine, creating a warm atmosphere wrapped in delicate ambient textures.

Quiet Sunlight concludes this year’s series of Dronarivm EP releases, beautifully presented as mini CDs packaged in 10×10 cm boxes.” – Drontology