What we currently have on rotation at the present moment is the new Hampshire and Foat “Galaxies Like Grains of Sand” LP released on the Athens of The North Label. Most people know AOTN for their hard to find selections of reissued Funk and Soul 45’s but he new Hampshire and Foat is a total departure from the norm and a very welcomed addition to the crates. Galaxies Like Grains of Sand is a musical masterpiece written, orchestrated and performed by the duo Greg Foat (who has become one of our favorite musicians) and Warren Hampshire (member of The Bees). In addition to Hampshire and Foat,the LP features one of the U.Ks finest Jazz drummers, Clark Tracy and also an Edinburgh orchestra and soloists hand picked and scored by the duo. The sound is cinematic, lush and peaceful, with jazzy notes and ambient tones of atmospheric pleasure very reminiscent of some of the best Italian soundtracks and library LPs combined with touches of modern classical, minimalism, Jazz and Folk to come out from the 1960s and 70’s.
Hampshire and Foat took the necessary steps to make sure the sound was authentic and warm and recorded the entire LP direct to 2″ tape while mixing it down on an analog board to the Sun Studios 1/4 valve tape machine. The final piece of the puzzle was complete with mastering duties being handed down to the best in the business, Helsinki Finland’s Timmon Records to give it the extra polish. When creating an album like this, there is no other way to do it and after one listen, you’ll understand why.