Don Scannell has the dubious pleasure of being a trained accountant from Monkstown in Southern Ireland who now lives and works in South West London.
Fortunately, what he calls his "musical yearning" has elevated him away from number-crunching into the single-minded creation of this ambitious album.
His background also includes involvement in the choirs and musicals of the Cork School of Music and this presumably accounts for the ecclesiastical quality of his songs evident, for example, in the hymnal chorus of "let the love rain down" on Crimson.
Scannell couples with this is a heightened inclination towards visionary poetry as in a tune dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom ("a crazy little diamond girl") and the statement that he has "a God-like vibe is running deep inside" (These Are Dreams).
Similarly, on Glimmering Star, he makes the obscure demand for a heavenly creature and/or being to "Sail over to me now, rush to my eyes in your clinker-hull cloud".
All this is delivered in a multi-tracked voice with a fragile Art Garfunkel-like aspect.
Scannell's piano-driven melodies have the delicacy of simple folk songs but have been expanded to epic proportions as if to convey the overwhelming wonderment of his vision.
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In this way, simple electronica tunes attain the symphonic scale of classical works and the fact that the album is framed by a short 'Intro' and 'Outro' suggests a concept designed to be absorbed as a whole.
The whole project was written and arranged by Scannell and co-produced in London with some guidance from "studio guru" Wiggzaro (Andrew Vise). Other finishing touches are provided by Roger Holtom (cello), Asian Dub Foundation's Martin Savale (bass/drums).
My first impression of this celestial folk was positive but found there was only so much time I could remain in the requisite state of blissful longing before I started craving for something rooted more in the earth than in the celestial spheres.
Don Scannell on Myspace
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