Clevelode - Muntjac (2024) [Hi-Res]

Clevelode is Paul Newland and his collaborators. Newland was one-half of The Lowland Hundred, a critically acclaimed duo that released three albums, ‘Under Cambrian Sky’ (2010), ‘Adit’ (2011), ‘The Lowland Hundred’ (2014).

‘Muntjac’ is a paean to Epping Forest and its environs, an area on the outskirts of northeast London. It offers reflections on how an individual carries their place of birth – and its cultural identity – with them through life. It is a fluid mix of tender, reflective, psychogeographical songwriting and avant-garde unmade film score. Paul is accompanied on the album by upright bass player Mike Seal (A Different Thread / Farefeld) and Emma Morton of Brighton folk trio Sairie on backing vocals.

The Lowland Hundred’s ‘Under Cambrian Sky’ was ‘Disc of the Day’ in Mojo Magazine, and later had a page-long article dedicated to it (by Andrew Male) in the ‘Buried Treasure’ section of the magazine. ‘The Lowland Hundred’ was #4 on Joseph Stannard's 2014 end of year list in The Wire: Adventures In Modern Music. Writing in The Wire, Rob Young noted that The Lowland Hundred ‘developed an expansive ambient rock under the intoxicating spell of Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden. The band had strong reviews in other publications such as Uncut, The Quietus, and Line of Best Fit. They received wide airplay – most notably on BBC Radio, Deutschland Radio, the ‘Airborne Event’ show on New York/New Jersey's WFMU, RRR (Melbourne, Australia) and live sessions on Resonance FM. The band also played prestigious gigs, including the Green Man festival and the Union Chapel, London.

"Epping Forest, which extends from the grime of London's East End out to rural pastures and grazing land in Essex, provides a wide vista of life to observe. "High Beech", the meeting point of the forest, sees ageing gangsters and biker gangs rubbing shoulders with the ghosts of John Clare and Alfred Tennyson, amid "shallow graves of bedevilled men. Spiritual cousins of Clevelode might be stubborn British loners such as Songs Of Green Pheasant's Duncan Sumpner or Flying Saucer Attack's Dave Pearce, while contemporary reference for the mix of songform and questing experimentation might be the songs and soundtracks of Elko Ishibashi"
- Derek Walmsley (The Wire, July 2024)

"Newland’s voice is remarkable in its lucidity and calmness, and he sings like a trusted narrator, holding nothing back. The sounds he explores on his multiple instruments – piano, guitar, synths, percussion – are sophisticated, with a magic hour melancholy."
- Tom Bolton (The Quietus, July 2024)

Tracklist:
1.01 - Clevelode - Loughton Camp (8:18)
1.02 - Clevelode - High Beech (5:39)
1.03 - Clevelode - Traffic Jam in the Bell Common Tunnel (2:35)
1.04 - Clevelode - Outside (the Epping Forest Country Club) (4:11)
1.05 - Clevelode - It Must Have Rained Last Night (Avenue of Trees) (3:07)
1.06 - Clevelode - Grimston's Oak (2:44)
1.07 - Clevelode - The Shortest Way Home (Genesis Slade) / Muntjac (14:18)
1.08 - Clevelode - Ambresbury Banks (16:42)