Antony Harrison retired his experimental post-rock/drone moniker
Konntinent in 2013 in order to focus on his more pop-minded project
Paco Sala, but he unearthed one final
Konntinent album in 2015.
The Empire Line was completed in 2010 and originally intended as a sequel to the well-received
Opal Island. A bit sparser than some of his other efforts, which were often intensely micro-edited, the album features surreal, dreamlike passages consisting of static, glacially paced pianos, clicking sine waves, and blank space. Tracks such as "Fibula, Tibea" feature brief, isolated fragments of speech flicking in and out of the mix over a backdrop of spacious strings, piano, and bass tones.
Chantal Acda,
Cuushe, and Lisa Madisson contribute ethereal vocals, and
Harrison's own fragile voice makes appearances as well. The album ends with the devastating "Reasonable Doubt," a haunting, multi-tracked suite of aching vocals and sorrow-heavy strings. ~ Paul Simpson