Adem Homesongs CD

HOMESONGS is no predictable batch of straightforward strumming and singing, however. The same attention to lush sonic detail that characterizes the work of Fridge and Four Tet (Hebden helped mix this album) is paramount here. Adem's emotive folk, while never losing its sense of immediacy, sports sophisticated arrangements and meticulous production. Bells ("Long Drive Home"), harp ("Pillow"), banjo ("One in a Million"), keys ("Everything You Need"), and varieties of thumping, clattering percussion ("Cut") lend texture and dimension to each of these 10 tracks. HOMESONGS is so subtle and carefully crafted, in fact, that it would be easy to overlook it, which would be a shame for an album this artistic and beautiful.

HOMESONGS is the debut album by Adem Illhan, a member of the post-rock trio Fridge (which also includes Kieran Hebden, whose electronica project is the magnificent Four Tet). Unlike the experimental direction of Fridge, however, Adem's solo outing falls firmly within the singer/songwriter camp, and is imbued with a quiet, intimate intensity. The listener has the feel, for much of the album, of moving in slow motion through Adem's interior geography, a spare landscape of scene-specific memories, regret, and chilling loneliness built around an acoustic guitar and Adem's aching, emotionally vulnerable voice.

Personnel: Adem ; Mike Parker, Marc Meon, Cameron Miller, Joe Goddard, Emma Macfarlane.

Rolling Stone (p.92) - "Ilham uses wooden instruments to make small, sleepy songs that burn like a nightlight, low and soft and distant. His voice is rickety yet warm..."
Rolling Stone (No. 968, p.74) - 3 stars out of 5 - "On this lovely album of folk-tronic lullabies, Adem Ilhan's creaky Beck-like vocals are backed by warm acoustic instrumentation recorded at whisper volumes..."
CMJ (p.6) - "Warm, airy textures float among the bones of gentle pop songs, while Adem Ilhan croons languidly..."