Some years ago, a young man was faced with a strange question: If a forest could sing... what would it sound like? It was this curious query that led Ian Cho on a three year quest for an answer.
Ian has always been captivated by nature. As a child, this was an obsession with nature parks, zoos, aviaries, pets and David Attenborough docos. However, as a young man, this fascination has led to a rather strange life behind a mixing desk, editing and imagining worlds that could be.
Ian describes the instrumental landscape of The Waking Woods as a ''mythical place rooted in imagination and nature that most people have always known and yet never been to, [] TWW is at times more of an idea than an image. Its the idea that nature is something fantastic. A living entity of great beauty.''
Sonically, these thoughts and reflections on nature are expressed through unusual melodies and wonderful organic sounds. Unlike conventional musical arrangements, Ians music can be described as thoughtful electronica, organic yet not acoustic. It bends traditional instruments to produce a different musical vocabulary think of guitars and harps speaking a new language.
What would a river sound like? What would a Flying Fish sound like? Ian's not always completely sure. But his debut record consists of quite a few of his imagined answers...
Review segments
"[The Waking Woods is] playful, resonating with a heightened childlike sense of wonder about the magical life of the forest and its inhabitants." - Cyclic Defrost Magazine
"Anything but haunted and dark, the forest he conjures is a sunlit, mythical phantasmagoria [...] Though Cho's instrumental palette is relatively small - guitar, piano, electronics - what he does with it is, frankly, remarkable." - Textura Magazine
"A charming debut" 4/5 Stars - Musiquemachine.com
"A strange little slice of magic" - Easy ABC's
"It will drive you to a different dimension." - Intuitive Music "Best Albums Of 2006"
Buy "The Waking Woods" album from: CDbaby.com , the Tovian Records shop , iTunes or Tower Records.com. For a complete list of digital download retailers, click here
Read an interview with Ian at Intuitive Music...
Watch the animated music video for Time Stands Still For You...
Watch the animated music video for The Flying Fish...
Free Download: The Flying Fish (Radio Version/Edit)
Free Download: The Flying Fish (Seatraffic Drum 'n' Beep remix)
Waking Woods microfeature @ Tovian