An Unexpected Giant Leap: Vinyl LP
EHW004Label: Errol's Hot Wax
Release Date: 6th September
As a Dad to two kids under four I can dig on a record that says it's 'evocative of the hazy moments of early parenthood', what a pure and surreal experience that is, the madness of learning yourself and the natural growth of a human advancing in the most beautifully basic way. It's a time of mania and calm, of love and despair, it's a time of reidentifying with yourself and as a 'music person' reconnecting your relationship. Christopher Haddow's 'An Unexpected Leap' is the kind of instrumental ambient guitar record one needs to ease and soundtrack the times.
For those who dig: William Tyler, John Fahey, and North Americans but with the more British electric acoustic ambience of Mark Knopfler's 'Local Hero'.
An Unexpected Giant Leap, the debut instrumental album from guitarist Christopher Haddow, is a contemplative journey evoking the hazy moments of early parenthood. Recorded over three intense days at the Green Door in Glasgow, it weaves together lap steel, double bass, open-tuned acoustic guitar, and piano through the hum of whirring tape machines.
Influenced as much by Brian Eno as by John Fahey, Link Wray and Marisa Anderson, Haddow set out to create a musical landscape, rich with imagery and emotional depth. Accompanied by Josh Longton and Jamie Bolland, the process involved a blend of spontaneous improvisation and deliberate soundscaping, with each track primarily recorded on the first take, capturing the raw, unfiltered essence of their collaboration.
The album is bookended by an ultrasound of Haddow's son Louie, encapsulating the deeply personal and emotional nature of this work. With undertones of deconstructed ambient country, this album serves as both a time capsule and a tool for soothing his son to sleep, echoing the continuous loops of pushing a buggy in circles around the park.
An Unexpected Giant Leap is an intimate portrait of Haddow’s experiences as a new parent, a musical photograph rendered in sound, and a heartfelt tribute to his family.