Ball of Wax 44 Songs: Anne Mathews – In the Meadow

You’ve already heard Anne Mathews’s voice once on this volume of Ball of Wax, backing up Annie Ford on “The Ravens’ Feast” as half of The Lonely Coast. But here she is all on her multi-tracked lonesome, singing another sub-two-minute beauty, no less powerful for its sparseness and brevity. This tune feels both modern and ancient to me – which makes sense, since the idea of creating layers of sound and beautiful beds of drone with the human voice is probably as old as the human race, and yet is still reused and repurposed to create some pretty forward-thinking music and sound art (as we’ve heard throughout this volume). “In the Meadow” would be equally at home in a medieval cathedral or a night of experimental music at the Chapel . . . or, of course, at the Fremont Abbey, where I hope we’ll hear a live rendition from Anne, Annie, and Valerie on June 11th at the Ball of Wax 44 release show.