Common Grounds by The Hardy Tree

Vinyl and CD versions available from Clay Pipe Music:
https://claypipemusic.greedbag.com/buy/common-grounds-2/

Analogue melodies with baroque inflections of crystalline harpsichord and airy mellotron, painting idyllic scenes of solitude. Bleep, Album of the week.

Wordless but exuding a strong transportive presence. There are hints of the ghostliness of Boards of Canada and the tranquilllity of prime Vangelis. Shingdig 4/5* stars

Celebrates the simple joys of the present, even when they are rooted in a faded, half-ridden past. Electronic Sound

We're totally losing ourselves in the magical world of The Hardy Tree. Common Grounds is so good. Monorail, Glasgow


Hushed synths and Mellotrons soundtrack urban walks through Victorian London suburbs.

Frances Castle is the illustrator/owner behind the Clay Pipe record label and The Hardy Tree is her on-going musical project. Common Grounds was started during the first 2020 lock down - when time moved very slowly and travel away from home became impossible.

“Like many others with nowhere else to go, I walked the streets of my neighbourhood for exercise and well-being. I began to see the ghosts of the people who had lived here before me, and notice the things that they had left behind; shapes of ancient tram tracks creeping under the tarmac, an old gas street lamp in an alleyway, a tiny metal sign indicating a culverted river. I spent my evenings writing and recording the music on this LP, and then the following day would listen to the rough mixes as I walked, the music began to soundtrack the walks, and the walks began influencing the type of music I was creating.”

Frances Castle 2022

The album was recorded at home by Frances, then mixed to tape with Ed Deegan at Gizzard Analogue Studios in East London. Ed plays drums on three of the tracks.

The Hardy Tree is the musical project of Frances Castle who runs the Clay Pipe Music label www.claypipemusic.co.uk

claypipemusic.co.uk