Patrick Grant, who composed his first album Fields Amaze in 1998, has returned to his conception over two decades later with his newest offering FIELDS AMAZE and other sTRANGE music. The album is aptly titled, as it is strange in the best way. Grant presents a hypnotically remixed and remastered version of the original with fresh bonus material this time around.
Each track has something new to offer the listener, making it nearly impossible to get bored during the nine track pilgrimage to the untouched corners of one’s mind. Featuring less traditional instruments such as theremins, trombones, clarinets, gamelans and flutes, Grant even lets Balinese percussion shine through. Unconventional and wildly intriguing, each track of FIELDS AMAZE and other sTRANGE music manages to outdo the previous one.
Within the mind-bending labyrinth of this album are the tracks “Imaginary Horror Film – Part 1” and “Imaginary Horror Film – Part 2,” which are odes to all the best parts of 60s horror film soundtracks with just a tiny bit of a Scooby Doo chase scene-esque vibe mixed in. It’s unsettling, and it’s awesome.
The closing track "If One Should Happen to Fall” is the only song to feature vocals, a powerful end to a powerful, if not mind-boggling, album. While it could potentially pass as a somewhat "normally" composed song to someone with an unorthodox definition of normal, even the most regular song on the album remains completely offbeat. For anyone who appreciates breaking the mould, FIELDS AMAZE and other sTRANGE music is sure to be a hit.