Texas-based Duo Balmorhea Draws Inspiration from Isolation on "The Wind" on Deutsche Grammophon

Copious creative influences run through Balmorhea's Deutsche Grammophon debut album. The Wind comprises a dozen tracks inspired by meditations on the natural world and its fragility, an ancient tale of a saint who carried the wind to an airless French valley, and thoughts of climate activist Greta Thunberg crossing the Atlantic on the catamaran La Vagabonde. 

The Wind marks both a return to Balmorhea's original set-up and a new beginning for the Texas-based duo of Rob Lowe and Michael A. Muller. Addressing their concerns for the way in which climate change is continuing unabated, and reflecting the solace that so many people are now finding in connecting with the natural environment, the album is a timely reflection on the need to cherish and protect our planet. It charts a journey through an evocative soundscape touched by echoes of prayer flags flapping in a Himalayan breeze, an old harmonium, pipe organ, a trio of double basses, wind chimes and beguiling guitar and piano instrumentals. 

The Wind was recorded in the iconic Saal 3 of Berlin's Funkhaus, musical home to Lowe and Muller's multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer friend Nils Frahm and co-produced by Jonathan Low; a Grammy-winning engineer and producer known for his recent work on projects with Taylor Swift, Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion. On "Rose in Abstract", which features both Balmorhea musicians on piano for the first time, they used Frahm's pipe organ to fill out the intro, later adding breadth and colour with the help of horn player Morris Kliphuis (stargaze collective), cellist Clarice Jensen and singer Lisa Morgenstern.

Balmorhea (pronounced "Bal-more-ray") began life in 2006 when Lowe and Muller met and made music at a summer camp in the remote Texas Hill Country. The two friends continued experimenting and exploring after they returned to their homes in Austin, and combined complex layers of guitar and piano sounds in ways that appeared to mirror the majestic mountains and rugged scenery of their home state. The group gradually evolved into a larger ensemble and toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Following an intense five-year period on the road and the decision of some of the band's members to relocate outside of Texas, Balmorhea's two founders took advantage of a break from touring to improvise and experiment together once more. The Wind and their collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon grew from there.