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Rion are Ian Hawgood and Ryo Nakata, although both veterans of the scene this is their debut outing as a duo. Inspired by the magic of low light periods and the quietude of a summer spent in the countryside, Fireflies, is an album of organic, magical and hazy presence. Ian Hawgood has immersed himself in musical projects for longer than he cares to remember; in recent years he has released through the likes of Experimedia, Dragons Eye and his own Home Normal label as well as through several netlabels. Ryo Nakata hails from Sapporo, Japan and records under the name Ryonkt. He runs the Small Fragments label and has had EPs and albums out on labels such as Smallfish, The Land Of, Resting Bell and Twice Removed. The album also features vocals from Rie Mitsutake (Miko). Fireflies was recorded over a two year period. Ryo recorded layers of drone guitar at home while Ian spent about a year gathering field recordings in parks and the countryside, as well as recording instruments such as Rhodes, church organ, harmonium, guitar and double bass in music shops, churches and so on. The idea was to keep the album fresh, improv-like and just quite unique in approach. All these elements were recorded to a small multitrack cassette and then multi-layered onto reels, no software or laptops were used. The cover photograph is by renowned ambient artist Fabio Orsi and acts as a beautiful juxtaposition to the theme of the album. On first viewing it is a decayed, urban environment, and yet the image has a beautiful magic to it.