Thin Air is British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill's 32nd solo album, released on his own Fie! Records label in June 2009. It was additionally made available as digital download through Burning Shed Records.
As on his previous release, Singularity, Hammill played all instruments, wrote all the songs and produced the album.
The main theme of the album is disappearance, as Hammill told British music magazine Mojo in February 2009: "it became apparent fairly quickly that strong thematic links were running through the songs' lyrics: disappearance, change, loss, dislocation in various forms were stitched through all of them."[3]
Another topic reappearing in several songs is the one of the World Trade Center along with images of planes, though Hammill denied "any direct" reference to 9/11.[4]
According to François Couture of AllMusic, Thin Air: "... may be less experimental than Singularity, but bleaker – and a more cohesive, consistent artistic proposition." The songs contain "almost no percussion, just acoustic guitars, piano, some gnarly electric guitar lines, bass, and those massed and intertwined back vocals that have become his signature".[5]
The album's cover was again created by Paul Ridout, using stills from his video work "Minutely Observed Horizon".[6]
Track listing
All tracks composed by Peter Hammill
"The Mercy" – 6:21
"Your Face on the Street" – 5:21
"Stumbled" – 4:48
"Wrong Way Round" – 2:40
"Ghosts of Planes" – 5:23
"If We Must Part Like This" – 4:38
"Undone" – 4:25
"Diminished" – 6:11
"The Top of the World Club" – 7:03
Personnel
Peter Hammill – vocals
Technical
Peter Hammill – recording engineer, mixing (Terra Incognita, Wiltshire)
Paul Ridout – design, photography
Your Face on the Street
While living in Bath, Hammill had the inspiration for the song "Your Face on the Street" from the disappearance of Melanie Hall in the same city. Some of the song's lyrics were written at the time of Hall's disappearance, and when the album came out, the discovery of her remains had yet to be made.[7]
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English singer-songwriter. He is a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and acts as a record producer for his own recordings and occasionally for other artists. In 2012, he was recognised with the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards.
The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in February 1970 on Charisma Records. It was the group's first album to be released in the UK and the only one to chart in the top 50 in that country.
Skin is the 14th studio album by Peter Hammill, originally released on vinyl on Foundry Records in 1986 and later re-released on CD on Virgin Records. It was also released on CD by DaTE.
Incoherence is the 30th studio album by Peter Hammill, released on his Fie! label in March 2004. Incoherence is a concept album about language, containing 14 tracks with soft transitions between them. The album was produced and played by Hammill himself, with contributions from Stuart Gordon on violin and David Jackson on flute and saxophones. Incoherence is recognized by critics as ambitious and one of Hammill's major works.
And Close As This is the 15th studio album by Peter Hammill, released on Virgin Records in 1986. Each track is a song played and sung by Hammill solo at a keyboard, with the keyboard parts played in a single take. Two of the songs use a grand piano as the keyboard instrument; for the others, Hammill plays a MIDI master keyboard, using it to trigger a variety of MIDI sound modules, mainly electric piano and organ sounds.
Over is the sixth studio album by the English singer and songwriter Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in April 1977. It was issued for the first time on CD on Virgin Records in the early 1990s, and was reissued again in a remastered version in 2006 with bonus tracks.
Roaring Forties is the 21st studio album by Peter Hammill, released on his own Fie! label in 1994. It, and the following album, X My Heart, are Hammill's most recent albums that primarily contain an organic, full-band rock style. While there are occasional tracks on later albums in this style, Hammill's principal mode has moved since this album towards a more intimate, chamber-music style.
The Fall of the House of Usher is an opera by Peter Hammill (music) and Chris Judge Smith (libretto). It is based on the 1839 short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.
The Future Now is the seventh studio album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1978. It was the first solo album Hammill released following the 1978 breakup of his band Van der Graaf Generator, although he had released numerous solo albums while VdGG were active. The album contains twelve short songs, several in the new wave style of VdGG's last studio album, The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome.
Sitting Targets is the tenth studio album by Peter Hammill, released on Virgin Records in June 1981. It contains several songs in the raw new wave style typical of Hammill's work in the late 1970s and early 1980s, following the dissolution of his band Van der Graaf Generator, and one of his occasional tender ballads, "Ophelia". "Stranger Still", "Sign" and "Central Hotel" have all been regularly performed by Hammill live in recent years.
pH7 is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on Charisma Records in September 1979. It was Hammill's eighth solo album and his last release on the Charisma label.
In a Foreign Town is the 16th studio album by the English singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It was originally released in 1988 on Enigma Records, and was subsequently reissued on Hammill's own Fie! label.
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s. In 2005 the band reformed, and are still musically active with a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans.
Singularity is the 31st studio album by Peter Hammill, released on his own Fie! Records label in December 2006.
None of the Above is the 26th studio album by Peter Hammill, released on his Fie! label in 2000.
Trisector is the tenth studio album by the British rock group Van der Graaf Generator. It was released on Virgin/EMI Records in March 2008. It is an important release for Van der Graaf Generator because it is the first album the band recorded as a trio. Saxophonist David Jackson departed the band following the 2005 tour.
This is the 25th studio album by Peter Hammill, released on his Fie! label in 1998. There is a large variety in the compositions, ranging from the minimalism of the final song, "The Light Continent", to the rough, almost Nadir-like sound of "Always is Next", the complex "Unrehearsed" and the ballad "Since the Kids". Peter Hammill performed the song "Unrehearsed" live many times. "Nightman" can be heard on the live-album Veracious (2006).
Spur of the Moment is an album of experimental music by Peter Hammill and Guy Evans, originally released as cassette tape on the Red Hot label. A remastered version was released on CD on the DaTE label in February 1988. The album is currently out of print.
Consequences is British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill's 33rd solo album, released on his own Fie! Records label in April 2012. As on his previous release, Thin Air, Hammill played all instruments, wrote all the songs and produced the album.
Otherworld is a collaborative album by English singer Peter Hammill and American guitarist Gary Lucas. It was released in February 2014 by Esoteric Recordings.
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