Almost exactly a year ago, guitar player and composer Toby Hay and electric and acoustic bass player Aidan Thorne released a collaborative album titled after a pause. They managed to come together during a break that occurred in the lockdowns of the summer of 2021 to record the album in just three days at Giant Wafer studios, a residential recording studio in the Heart of Wales.
In his review of that album, Thomas Blake wrote: “Thorne and Hay have created a space where ideas can take shape, and the process seems admirably organic.” He adds, “More than just a collaborative album, it is an album that celebrates the nature of collaboration and the possibilities that can arise when two good friends (who also happen to be extremely talented musicians) get the chance to spend some uninterrupted studio time together.”
Next month, the duo are heading out on tour, see dates below. To mark this reunion, they have shared a live session performance of Draw.
In his review, read it here, Thomas wrote: “This is music that glistens with a kind of newborn dampness: the pensive Draw finds its feet with a slow, bright guitar motif which builds into a satisfying crescendo.”
He concludes: “Taken as a whole, After A Pause plots a course from brightness and optimism through trepidation to a resolution of contentment that rings with hope. Given that the pair had no idea what path the project would take when they first entered the studio together, the fact that the album feels so coherent is impressive. What is even more impressive is the improvisational rapport they developed in such a short space of time and how they managed to translate that into music of sharply-defined brilliance, shot through with the light of the Welsh countryside and brimming with consideration both for the spirit of collaboration and for the natural world. after a pause is the work of two consummate musicians who aren’t afraid to push themselves and each other in new directions.”
Their tour runs from April 7th to May 4th, a rare opportunity to watch this intuitive duo perform music that so easily slips into harmony with nature.
More: https://tobyhay.com/live