The Time It Takes

by Goldmund

supported by

Oleksandr Demianenko love here <3

ookiiani I have followed Goldmund for years now, all throughout high school and now through to my final year in uni. Still as calming and inspirational for my own piano music as the first time I heard him; Kenniff is truly magic. Favorite track: Day In, Day Out.

Mathieu M. Warm and intriguing album with many hidden complexities, beautifully put together.

JD Great work as always. Favorite track: For Old Times.

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
• Limited edition 12" vinyl release of The Time It Takes
• Written and performed by Keith Kenniff
• Mastered by Taylor Deupree
• Photo by Mindia Gabadze

Includes unlimited streaming of The Time It Takes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 10 days

6 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

$21 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
• CD packaged in gorgeous 4-panel gatefold wallet.
• Cover photo by Mindia Gabadze
• Music written and performed by Keith Kenniff
• Mastered by Taylor Deupree

Includes unlimited streaming of The Time It Takes via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 65 days

Purchasable with gift card

$14 USD or more

1.	Day In, Day Out 04:01	buy track
2.	Forever 03:50	buy track
3.	Memory Itself 04:15	buy track
4.	Of No Other 02:53	buy track
5.	Abandon 02:37	buy track
6.	Pavane 03:47	buy track
7.	For Old Times 04:18	buy track
8.	The One Who Stands By 03:20	buy track
9.	The End 02:39	buy track
10.	Respite 03:01	buy track
11.	Rivulet 03:02	buy track
12.	For A Time 02:03	buy track
13.	From One Place To Another 03:40	buy track
14.	The Night 02:46	buy track
15.	The Valley In Between 04:17	buy track

about

Pennsylvania native Keith Kenniff’s output as Goldmund has established him as one of the preeminent composers of minimal piano-based ambient music alongside peers like Hauschka, Dustin O’Halloran, and even Ryuichi Sakamoto, who himself once described Kenniff’s work as “so, so, so beautiful”. His recordings tread sincerely along paths laden with dusty timbres, diffuse synthesizer, and soaring string textures tinted by the muted glow of a cloudy analog sky above. On The Time it Takes, Goldmund’s newest book of aural polaroids, Kenniff somehow manages to deepen the emotionality of his already affecting project, creating a space in which to unfold the sorrows of a troubling age and revel in the hope and beauty that follow thereafter. In this sense, The Time it Takes tackles grief head-on, unadorned by themes of escapism or pastorality, and marks another entry in an impressively consistent body of work.

From the first murmurs of its opener “Day in, Day Out”, The Time it Takes calls to mind the cascading nature of mourning. There’s the first tragedy, the loss itself, then the second one, the dissipation of the memory of the thing lost. We start out grieving for a loss directly; years later, sorrow reappears not only for that loss, but for the idea that its meaning is slipping away with each turn of the calendar page. An aged piano thumps gently just beyond an impassable moat of time, its operator’s presence is evidenced by the shuffling of pedals and the shifting of mechanisms, and seraphic choirs seep in from places unseen. It’s a miniature diagram of how the outer world transitions to the inner, and vice versa. “Memory Itself” follows suit with earthy textures that become slowly buried by celestial ones as the seconds pass. Kenniff’s kindling of piano is gradually set ablaze with synth, choir, and trilling strings provided by his equally emotive labelmate Christopher Tignor. The track is a crescendo that imparts an equal amount of dread and relief depending on the mood of the listener.

Like much of The Time it Takes, “Respite” is true to its title, but not because it leans on New Age aims of comfort and relaxation. Deeply fervent, it instead reflects the kind of emotional relief that can bring someone to tears if they’re lucky enough to stumble upon it mid-crisis. Conversely, the subsequent “Rivulet” crouches in subdued concern and uncertainty amid deteriorated synths that howl down darkened hallways. “The One Who Stands By” approaches a similar sense of subtle menace. With its lilting arpeggio, pulsing bass, and scraping drones, the piece anxiously marches toward some severe and unresolved dilemma. Earlier in the sequence, tracks like “For Old Times” investigate the serene sides of woe and yearning that form the core sentiments of the album: missed chances to share things with people who’ve passed on and are forever lost to the past; small internal battles quietly won or lost, but never spoken of; a heavy rain followed by sideways afternoon sunlight that imparts just enough awe to make you feel okay with your unnoticeable role in it all.

As if we needed convincing, Kenniff further proves his skill of crafting sound-design vignettes that are personal, private, and hushed, yet simultaneously grand, colossal, and profound. Nostalgia sometimes suffers the role of low hanging fruit for the marketing world, or worse, a symptom of the stunted development of a generation facing backward in a world that moves unrelentingly forward. But instead of engaging in reductive and culpable pastiche, Kenniff dispels any notions of nostalgia’s counterproductivity by using our collective memory as just another brush to paint with, thereby wresting his music from any linear cultural timeline. To that end there are few artistic voices as distinct as Goldmund’s. Magically conjuring grandeur from only a few simple ingredients (piano, synthesizer, reverb, and a little more) Kenniff’s sound has become so universal that you'd be forgiven for not knowing who it belongs to. Knock offs be damned, every Goldmund recording is cut from an inimitable fabric woven out of emotional realism, honesty, vivid imagination, and skillful restraint.

credits

released October 16, 2020

license

about

Goldmund Portland, Oregon

contact / help

Contact Goldmund

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Goldmund, you may also like:

Veriditas
by Helios

supported by 49 fans who also own “The Time It Takes”

I’m so thankful that as I begin collecting vinyls, one of my 13 year favorite artists has a gorgeous ambient heavily textured album to bless my ears. I haven’t yet finished the album because I get stuck on new favorite tracks as I progress through it. Thank you so much for your immense talent and inspiration, Kieth Kennif. Captain Lovett
go to album
The Undivided Five
by A Winged Victory for the Sullen

supported by 42 fans who also own “The Time It Takes”

A deep meditation into fathomless abyss. This is the first vinyl I ever listened to that, when it ended, I immediately wanted to turn it over and listen to it again. Stunning. I'll be buying whatever I can from these artists. Jamming Device
go to album
Silencia
by Hammock

supported by 41 fans who also own “The Time It Takes”

So beautiful, calming and epic. The strings in these pieces really pull me in. More sounds!! Fantastic ambience xx Lauren Ashley Baguley
go to album
A NDO C Y
by Hauschka

New tunes sit next to remixes (including one by Devendra Banhart), plus a bonus 40-minute live performance. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 7, 2015
go to album
On Giacometti
by Hania Rani

featured on Bandcamp Radio Feb 14, 2023
go to album
Closing Statements
by KAADA

A visceral LP centered on the subject of death; deft layers of instrumentation that blurs the line between organic and electronic. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 5, 2018
go to album
Invisible Cities
by A Winged Victory for the Sullen

supported by 41 fans who also own “The Time It Takes”

Huge yet intimate, gorgeous Martin Doudoroff
go to album