{"id":21549,"date":"2026-03-01T12:52:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T17:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/?p=21549"},"modified":"2026-03-01T12:52:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T17:52:50","slug":"eric-hilton-a-sky-so-close-lp-montserrat-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/releases\/eric-hilton-a-sky-so-close-lp-montserrat-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Hilton &#8211; A Sky So Close  LP &#8211; Montserrat House"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"no\" height=\"255\" src=\"https:\/\/www.juno.co.uk\/player-embed\/SF1131709-01-01-01.mp3\/?pl=true&#038;ed=26-03-01\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In these times of anxiety and deprivation, journey to a place of sensual attainment on A Sky So Close, the elegantly erotic new album from producer Eric Hilton.<\/p>\n<p>A Sky So Close delivers classic trip-hop sounds over 12 tracks of pure sensory indulgence. &#8220;This record is an atmosphere, a state of mind. I indulge myself by making music that I want to listen to,\u201d says Hilton. &#8220;It\u2019s a more solitary record than some of my other work, there is not a big list of guest performers on this one. It\u2019s really like my stream of consciousness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hilton\u2019s luxurious production skills are on full display here, as well as the deep grooves that he\u2019s been delivering since the early days of Thievery Corporation, the legendary downtempo combo he co-founded in the mid-90\u2019s. But on A Sky So Close, there is a hedonic weightlessness to this music that verges on the tantric, with no climactic finish to bring the listener back down to earth. Hilton keeps you floating in an extended, delicious haze. <\/p>\n<p>The album opener \u201cAkasha\u201d at first sounds like a band coming onstage to perform, with tentative bass licks and distant synth that quickly morph into a percolating sidewalk rhythm. The yearning whispers of the follow up track \u201cThe Dharma Lovers\u201d make it clear that the destination is an assignation. \u201cBreathe Me In\u201d chases the dragon into a smoke-filled room, bathed in pink light. <\/p>\n<p>A Sky So Close follows Hilton\u2019s well-honed production methodology of layering samples and live playing to deliver a more organic sound, with the added punch and feel that only a performance can bring. \u201cI\u2019m really a bassline designer,\u201d says Hilton. \u201cI mean, I\u2019m a passable bass player, but if a lick is a little too tricky for me, I\u2019ll bring in a friend to play it. And I also really like to weave bass samples and live playing together, so you can get new kinds of grooves that one person couldn\u2019t really play.\u201d Drop the needle on \u201cKali\u201d or \u201cGhatam\u201d to settle into two of the album\u2019s deepest bass grooves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLalita\u201d is a truly standout track on A Sky So Close, a passive-pop concoction of sitar and Hindi chanting delivered by longtime Hilton and Thievery Corporation vocal collaborator Natalia Clavier. \u201cNatalia is so special &#8211; she understands what I\u2019m trying to do, understands my influences and can translate that into a beautiful performance every time,\u201d enthuses Hilton. \u201cShe\u2019s Brazilian, but she dialed in a totally different voice for this track. She also sings on \u201cKali\u201d &#8211; she is endlessly talented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The title track \u201cA Sky So Close\u201d delivers the album\u2019s most widescreen elegance. Finger tipped tabla hits, string flourishes, wah guitar and a cooking bassline create an empyrean expanse filled with exotic birds, ancient aliens, and beckoning goddesses. Perhaps the most surprising piece on the album is \u201cThe Emerald Door\u201d, a desi-meets-drum and bass exploration that sounds somewhat adjacent to the Asian Underground music scene of the late 1990\u2019s. <\/p>\n<p>For the final two tracks on the album, Hilton gently leads the listener back out of the haze. \u201cBehind My Eyes (reprise)\u201d has a laid back but tough groove; the goddess slides your jacket on, kisses your cheek and gently pushes you out her door, back on to the street. \u201cThe Lotus Gate\u201d is a mysterious closer, with Ipcress File dramatics that seem to be leading somewhere explosive\u2026\u2026..but where to next? Eric Hilton is full of musical surprises.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, let go, and fall into the sky. It is\u2026..so\u2026..close.<\/p>\n<p>Label: Montserrat House<br \/>\nFormat: 180 gram sky blue vinyl LP<br \/>\nCat: MH 030<br \/>\nReleased: 19 Feb 26<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.juno.co.uk\/products\/eric-hilton-a-sky-so-close-vinyl\/1131709-01\/?ref=motionfm&#038;utm_source=affiliate&#038;utm_medium=affiliate&#038;utm_campaign=affiliate_dashboard_referral\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>BUY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tracklist<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Side A<\/strong><br \/>\n1. &#8220;Akasha&#8221; 3:49<br \/>\n2. &#8220;The Dharma Lovers&#8221; 3:14<br \/>\n3. &#8220;Breath Me In&#8221; 3:14<br \/>\n4. &#8220;Lalita&#8221; (feat Natalia Clavier) 3:51<br \/>\n5. &#8220;The Endless Raga&#8221; 3:14<br \/>\n6. &#8220;Pondering Soul&#8221; 2:47<\/p>\n<p><strong>Side B<\/strong><br \/>\n1. &#8220;A Sky So Close&#8221; 3:14<br \/>\n2. &#8220;Kali&#8221; (feat Natalia Clavier) 3:31<br \/>\n3. &#8220;The Emerald Door&#8221; 3:07<br \/>\n4. &#8220;Ghatam&#8221; 3:17<br \/>\n5. &#8220;Behind My Eyes&#8221; (feat The Infinite Daisy Chains &#8211; reprise) 3:59<br \/>\n6. &#8220;The Lotus Gate&#8221; 3:17<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In these times of anxiety and deprivation, journey to a place of sensual attainment on A Sky So Close, the elegantly &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":21550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21549"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21551,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21549\/revisions\/21551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motionfm.com\/wp2014\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}