It might come as a surprise that Peter Gregson – whose previous work has endeavoured to push boundaries, rubbing shoulders with the world of digital technology – has erred on the side of simplicity in his forthcoming album, Peter Gregson (out April 11th). That the work is self-titled is significant: “this music is the closest to what I hear in my head that I’ve ever reached.”  

What’s in Gregson’s head reveals itself to be an assortment of elegant melodies. The cellist and composer draws inspiration from Felix Mendelssohn’s songs without words – his cello becomes a singing voice, an extension of himself. 

Gregson made the album in “The Big Room” at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, which sits in the middle of a pond, just outside of London, as he describes it. He recorded his cello to tape, and the synthesizer digitally, to create a sound world that looks as far back as the 19th century, and as far forward as avant-garde electronic composition.

There is something vulnerable about creating a record that is so paired-down, particularly for an artist as prolific as Gregson. His aim was to release something pure, music whose essence is not modified or obfuscated by the format in which it is presented. Each piece leads into the next: an imaginative, free-flowing portrait of the artist, which leaves ample room for interpretation.