From Gardens Where We Feel Secure

Infobox Album
Name = From Gardens Where We Feel Secure
Type = studio
Artist = Virginia Astley


Released = July 29 1983
Recorded = April 1982 - January 1983
Genre = Instrumental/Ambient
Length = 37:45
Label = Happy Valley / Rough Trade Records
Producer = Virginia Astley/Russell Webb
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hpfrxq85ld0e link]
Last album =
This album = "From Gardens Where We Feel Secure" (1983)
Next album = "Promise Nothing" (1983)

"From Gardens Where We Feel Secure" is the title of the first Virginia Astley album issued on her own Happy Valley label and distributed by Rough Trade Records.

The album was released in July 1983 and peaked at number 4 in the UK Indie Chart. The album was trailed by a couple of its tracks "A Summer Long Since Past" and "It's Too Hot to Sleep," which were included on the 12" of the earlier single "Love's a lonely place to be."

The album is an instrumental collection of tone poems that describe the cycle and mirror the moods of an indolent summer day. [ allmusic.com [http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,306442,00.html Review "From Gardens Where We Feel Secure"] ] The album began life as a series of demos produced by John Foxx at the Crépuscule studios, where he was working at the time. The album is notable for its structure, moving from dawn to dusk, and its use of natural, sound effects. In 1986, Astley and Ryuichi Sakamoto re-recorded "A Summer Long Since Past", re-naming it "A Summer Long Since Passed" and including it in her 1986 album Hope in a Darkened Heart. "From Gardens..." was re-mastered and re-released by Rough Trade as a CD in 2003.

Critical Reaction

The album was praised by critics. Stewart Mason, writing for Allmusic, stated: cquote|Almost entirely instrumental, save for a few wordless vocals on "A Summer Long Since Past," and featuring little instrumentation besides Astley's piano and some subtle woodwinds, the album is a lovely 35-minute meditation built around field recordings Astley made of the ambient sounds of the rural English countryside. This description makes the album sound much more twee and insubstantial than it actually is; however, Astley is no mere ambient noodler. These nine songs are melodically rich and varied; mood pieces in the truest sense of the term.

Track listing

# "Morning: With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming" - 5:43
# "Morning: A Summer Long Since Past" - 4:36
# "Morning: From Gardens Where We Feel Secure" - 3:59
# "Morning: Hiding In The Ha-Ha" - 3:55
# "Afternoon: Out On The Lawn I Lie In Bed" - 5:09
# "Afternoon: Too Hot For Peacocks" - 2:29
# "Afternoon: Summer Of Their Dreams" - 3:21
# "Afternoon: When The Fields Were On Fire" - 3:25
# "Afternoon: It's Too Hot To Sleep" - 5:18

References