Sonae – Far Away Is Right Around The Corner
Sonae’s hard-work and dedication have never been in doubt alongside her brimming talent. The Cologne-based producer’s Places Series EP was just a taster of what to expect for when an inevitable full-length came to fruition.
Far Away Is Right Around The Corner is Sonae’s debut on Monika Enterprise and a natural extension to her Places Series Cologne EP. I’ve enjoyed the unexpectedness and variety of Sonae’s productions (and even her mixes) to date, and her album finally depicts the many courses, battles and emotions she considers when taking to the studio.
A pounding beginning echo-ing with static is followed by the title piece; a shining ambient drone juxtaposed with a piercing synth. Wanderingis another play on Sonae’s explorations of her city no doubt, with eery radio samples, static and decay. The piano has long been Sonae’s weapon of choice and her differing approaches show between the heavy drones in Song Of Hate And Anger and the uplifting keys in Hot Summerday. My favourite track I Know A Fish, is Sonae’s most balanced piece to date and a defining piece for the album.
Within each track lies hidden meanings, a hidden emotion and a confusion of sorts, that only becomes apparent as a whole. Skip through the tracks and you’d miss it. Listen as a whole and you’ll be engrossed until the end – a story with highs, lows, twist and turns. Available on LP / digital download.
Listen and download Sonae’s Places Series release Cologne here.
Levi Patel – Of Sleep and Time
After his big step with Forms on Dado Records, Levi Patel has returned with a mini EP, which he recognises as a different approach to his earlier material. But let me make this clear – this is probably only a different approach to a musical genius like him… sure it focuses more on the piano, and is definitely less Soundtrack, but to us mere mortals, the pure emotion and melancholy still remain. You’d be quick to draw comparisons with Nils Frahm’s early days, but it’s Olafur Arnalds and Otto A.Totland who’ll be witnessing a similar young prodigy tread in the same, gentle footsteps. Available on Bandcamp.
Listen and download Levi’s Places Series release, Dissociation, here.
Leandro Fresco – El Reino Invisible
Leandro’s latest, El Reino Invisible, is the first in a new Pop Ambient album series, which follows the acclaimed compilation series – a move that was to many of us inevitable given the quality of output so far. Kompakt have always ‘released’ ambient albums, but only now have they decided to position them under the successful Pop Ambient guise.
Expect nothing unexpected from Leandro and everything you’ve come to love from the Pop Ambient mainstay – his beautiful, warm synth-sound wrapped in subtle melodies is a perfect start to the series. As Leandro quotes, “I do not associate this album with feelings of sadness, but with hope, light and the summer heat, full of cyan and orange colors”, much like a summer trip to Buenos Aires accompanied by the man himself. El Reino Invisible is the equivalent of putting your music on auto-play when watching a superb sunset – a warm, slowly evolving and colourful attack on the senses. Just as the first track translates, we’re hoping it’s A Golden Age for Pop ambient after this signature release.
Available to preview/listen and pre-order on Kompakt.
