The catalogue of material released by Papillon de Nuit, the ever-shifting, ever-evolving musical project of Stephen Kennedy, continues to expand with the release of single number eight.
Kennedy’s approach to the project is both interesting and unusual, with each song recorded at a separate session, often not even fully-formed in terms of writing and arrangement beforehand, and realised with various guest musicians and vocalists. Retuning once more to Young Thugs studio in York, ‘The Pilgrim’s Arc’ again sees Stephen handle a considerable range of duties, from drums to grand piano and providing spoken and sung vocals, as well as writing and arranging the song itself, while joined by Michalina Rudawska (cello) and Karen Amanda O’Brien (spoken word).
The Exceptional Mr Hyde make a guest appearance here, providing ‘menacing spoken word’, while Steve Whitfield added bass and guitar, as well covering production work
The result is a striking, dramatic, percussion-driven piece with some chunky bass, and layered vocals creating an almost schizophrenic mutter behind a soaring melody.
AA
Aural Aggravation 