"Beautiful was the Time just sort of falls into your head without much regard for your place in time or space, excitably extolling the benefits of finding yourself in the midst of a Slavic conversation. The words drifting half-complete are spoken in a language you cannot hope to understand... It's as if these tapes captured the moments before a nuclear explosion.....Beautiful was the Time bears repeated listening. There are numerous indescribable sounds that weave their way into Preslav Literary School's gorgeous recording, and as with any complex music, you discover something new with each listen."
"At times disturbing, definitely inquisitive, this composition requires attention, rewards lurking behind the corner if one’s patient enough."
"Not unlike William Basinski with his Disintegration Loops, Preslav Literary School focuses on creating something new and personal out of found sounds and dull, everyday happenings. A sense of wonder and amazement is conveyed through the sounds, and a sense of otherworldly significance is given to the simplest of actions. Thomas succeeds in making something fragile and exquisite out of tedium and monotony, and that is where the art of Beautiful Was The Time lies. This time truly is beautiful."
"The sounds themselves are reminiscent of minimalist composer William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops, with both the content buried within the tapes and the audible process of their destruction and erasure playing equal roles in the sound. occasionally, distant melodies or vocal samples appear in the fog, only to slip back into the drone. We’re left with a haunting, subtle piece of sound art that sounds like it could have been emitted from some archaic dream-capturing device."
"A soft scatter from static and the voice loops, determined to be heard among the din and chirping birds. The wails of strangers hum in other rooms. Holy places, perhaps. Alchemists bleeding life into their sullen gold mourning as if that sacrifice might shed some magic into the mosaic of ghosts. Of orchids. Of language raised in unknowable reaches... Preslav (proper) was founded in God as much as it was in man and this is a piece wrought by a divining hand."
"This is a lovely, creaking, ruddy-complexioned brew of staggering dictaphone melancholy, the sound of a faraway alien orchestra slowly swallowed by warm, wet marsh-gas."
"Preslav Literary School salvages tapes and reconstructs them. Pre-recorded sound is given life and vice-versa... optimistic, idealistic and dreamy, he desperately clings on to the new elements which arrive fully formed, escaped from his guidance, and persuades them to stay."
"Half way music, halfway aural investigation... the approach of Preslav Literary School results in rich textures and a specific sound that makes his tracks unique and memorable."
"...a fine balance between deconstructing itself and creating an audio-environmental soundscape that is fascinating and diverting."
"At times disturbing, definitely inquisitive, this composition requires attention, rewards lurking behind the corner if one’s patient enough."
"Not unlike William Basinski with his Disintegration Loops, Preslav Literary School focuses on creating something new and personal out of found sounds and dull, everyday happenings. A sense of wonder and amazement is conveyed through the sounds, and a sense of otherworldly significance is given to the simplest of actions. Thomas succeeds in making something fragile and exquisite out of tedium and monotony, and that is where the art of Beautiful Was The Time lies. This time truly is beautiful."
4/5: Sputnik Music
"The sounds themselves are reminiscent of minimalist composer William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops, with both the content buried within the tapes and the audible process of their destruction and erasure playing equal roles in the sound. occasionally, distant melodies or vocal samples appear in the fog, only to slip back into the drone. We’re left with a haunting, subtle piece of sound art that sounds like it could have been emitted from some archaic dream-capturing device."
"A soft scatter from static and the voice loops, determined to be heard among the din and chirping birds. The wails of strangers hum in other rooms. Holy places, perhaps. Alchemists bleeding life into their sullen gold mourning as if that sacrifice might shed some magic into the mosaic of ghosts. Of orchids. Of language raised in unknowable reaches... Preslav (proper) was founded in God as much as it was in man and this is a piece wrought by a divining hand."
"This is a lovely, creaking, ruddy-complexioned brew of staggering dictaphone melancholy, the sound of a faraway alien orchestra slowly swallowed by warm, wet marsh-gas."
"Preslav Literary School salvages tapes and reconstructs them. Pre-recorded sound is given life and vice-versa... optimistic, idealistic and dreamy, he desperately clings on to the new elements which arrive fully formed, escaped from his guidance, and persuades them to stay."
"Half way music, halfway aural investigation... the approach of Preslav Literary School results in rich textures and a specific sound that makes his tracks unique and memorable."
"...a fine balance between deconstructing itself and creating an audio-environmental soundscape that is fascinating and diverting."
