Tree, by John Metcalfe

Tree

by John Metcalfe

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
The LP of Tree comes with six tracks, as follows:
Side A
Xylem
Root to Leaf
Tāne Mahuta
SIde B
Dusk
Night
Sunrise

Comes with hi-res download for the whole album, including the additional two tracks

Includes unlimited streaming of Tree via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Purchasable with gift card

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Tree via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Purchasable with gift card

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1.	Xylem 08:46	buy track
2.	Canopy 03:30	buy track
3.	Root to Leaf 10:42	buy track
4.	Stasis 03:54	buy track
5.	Tāne Mahuta 08:24	buy track
6.	Dusk 09:05	buy track
7.	Night 08:04	buy track
8.	Sunrise 04:54	buy track

about

Tree is eight immersive compositions that take the listener through twenty-four hours in the life of one of nature’s most majestic creations

The Durutti Column viola-playing master - a composer and arranger for the likes of U2, Coldplay, Peter Gabriel and Blur, as well as co-founder with Tony Wilson of the Factory Classical label – had been composing music spontaneously, instinctively, when the idea of Tree arrived. The album came from a desire in John Metcalfe to write at scale – perhaps a natural reaction for a composer writing out of the silences and solitude of our recent pandemic years.

“The pieces I was writing were big and trying to be bigger, so I knew they had to be to do with something – and then I thought about one of the most profound experiences of my life.” He is referring to seeing Tāne Mahuta as an adult, the largest known living kauri tree in the world. Set in an ancient subtropical rainforest on the North Island of Aoreatoa / New Zealand, John had spent his early childhood living in that part of the world after his British father had "escaped there as a ten-pound Pom".

Having emigrated to England as a child, he went back to New Zealand with his wife when he was 26. He explains, “…we thought we’d tick something off the tourist list, and I thought we're going to see trees, which is great – but we weren’t prepared for what happened.”. They both cried when they found Tãne Mahuta, and Metcalfe is still amazed at the reaction he had: “… as an atheist, it was the closest I’ve ever got to a spiritual moment… there was something extraordinary about the atmosphere in the forest and the size of this tree, and the sense that it had been there a long time. It was about the protection it gave, and the sense of connection we had with that protection.”

Written for live players and recorded in Abbey Road Studios to convey human connection at scale, Tree imagines what it would be like to be sat completely still under a tree that you love, being alive to the ever-shifting interplay of light, colour, weather and sound. Shimmering pulsating layered tracks take the listener on a voyage that takes in the dawn chorus, depicted by conversations between chirruping woodwind and staccato strings, through to the solemnity of dusk and into the playful night. The album at times summons up the folkloric power of ancient forests through an emotional crescendo in emotion and sound, before bringing us back to sunrise, and a reflection on the journey we’ve taken.

Tree isn’t just about Tãne Mahuta, explains Metcalfe: “It could be about any tree – they’re all very magical.” This record isn’t a political statement, but it's clear to him that as science progresses, and as climate breakdown progresses, people are trying to find deeper ways to understand and cherish nature. "It’s about the music that people are trying to create to connect with things that are huge and beautiful and inexplicable around them."   

Tree is John's beautiful, emotional attempt. "My album's about describing our relationship with something as every-day and extraordinary as a tree, and how it can be an incredibly important part of who we are.”

credits

released September 22, 2023

All tracks written, produced and performed by John Metcalfe

Additional Strings on Tracks 1,3,5,6,8
Violins
Everton Nelson (leader), Natalia Bonner, Charlie Brown, Emil Chakalov, Alison Dods, Louisa Fuller, Richard George, Raja Halder, Marianne Haynes, Rick Koster, Oli Langford, Steve Morris, Charles Mutter, Tom Pigott-Smith, Cathy Thompson, Debbie Widdup
Violas,
Peter Lale, Reiad Chibah, Gillianne Haddow, Kate Musker, Andy Parker, Rachel Robson
Celli
Richard Harwood, Adrian Bradbury, Ian Burdge, David Daniels, James Douglas, Julia Graham, Sophie Harris, Tony Woollard,
Double Basses
Stacey Watton, Roger Linley, Richard Pryce, Lucy Shaw
Woodwind on Tracks 3,4,5,6,7,8
Oboe Alun Derbyshire
Bassoon Sarah Burnet
Strings fixed by Jenny Goshawk for Isobel Griffiths Ltd.

Strings recorded at Abbey Road Studio 2.
Engineered by Lewis Jones
Assistant Engineer Chris Parker

Score preparation - Dave Foster

Recorded at The Bus Stop
Mixed by John Metcalfe and Patrick Phillips
Mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios

Cover Design; Marc Bessant

Published by Manners McDade Music Publishing Ltd.

Thanks to Louisa and all trees.

Pleased donate if you can to any organisations working for climate justice.

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about

John Metcalfe London, UK

Producer and arranger to the likes of Blur, Coldplay, U2 and Peter Gabriel, John Metcalfe is one of the most diverse and fearless musicians out there. Born in New Zealand but made in Manchester he was a member of cult post-punk band Durutti Column and alongside Tony Wilson launched the pioneering Factory Classical on Manchester’s legendary Factory label. ... more

shows

May 11

St Barnabas Church

Oxford, UK

discography

Tree

Sep 2023
Absence Remixes

Nov 2019
Absence

Sep 2018
Wrapped

May 2016
Remix EP

Mar 2016
The Appearance of Colour

Jun 2015

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