“Like a breeze of amazement, it’s always beautiful and immensely poetic”

A nice review of my March 2023 ambient music album

Every time, it’s always the same! I’m intellectually lazy when it comes to listening to and dissecting an Anantakara album. And each time, I ask myself why? I always come to the same conclusion: hey, it’s beautiful! Admittedly, I’m a long way from the style of electronic music (EM) that I’m a little more fond of, in this universe nourished by a mesh of acoustics and electronics. A union between synthesizers and the various sources of flutes and other acoustic instruments that draw the harmonious arabesques of reveries that animate the 11 structures of BEFORE COMPLETION. Always poetically inspired by spiritual sources that transcend the usual genre, Philippe Wauman drew inspiration from hexagram 64 from Yi-King’s Book of Changes to compose the music for this album download offered by the American label Aural Film. True to his musical aestheticism, the Belgian musician weaves a musical panorama that embraces the curves of theatrical music driven by a choreography drawn from these stars and their fascinating constellations. Percussive acoustic chords and various sources of acoustic percussions are the main sources of the album’s ambient and driving rhythms, while at times the sequencer and drums take us into the world of Berlin School. Flute textures dominate the harmonies and breezes that make up the sources of bewitchment on an album that is quick to enchant ears and senses with some instantly seductive nuggets.

may be one of the best ambient albums 2023

In conformity with its title, Encounter of the Fifth Type opens with a cosmic essence. These elements gradually dissipate, leaving the nostalgic harmonies of synth waves to float between increasingly distant knocks. A slow ballet of light and shadow begins to dance softly. And an ambient rhythm takes shape as rubbery-textured percussive chords begin to gambol limply. This floating cadence finds its impetus in a form of echo born of these cadenced knockings, from which emerges a melody weeping like a flute seeking its metamorphosis into a saxophone. Suspended chords crumble into tender flute breaths at the opening of After the Rain. Tibetan-like tinkling chimes structure a rhythmic ritornello where the heaviness of a bass line hangs in the air. Its fluid shading resonates as keyboard riffs structure a curt rhythm.

a poetic ambient electronic album

A kind of astral procession whose firmament fills with flute tunes in a cinematic musical texture. This choreography of a spasmodic ballet is at the origin of Flowering up the Heart, from which the enchanting flute lulls our dreams and hopes. A slow, undulating rhythmic movement with a certain restraint loses itself in a long passage of cinematic ambiance, where drama and its shadows loom like an inevitable threat. The strings are quite striking at times, while the tender, melancholy piano takes us back to the gates of reverie. As the sonic hoops of Fulfil your Fate dissipate, the track takes a beautiful approach to a romanticized Berlin School. The back-and-forth movement of the sequencer and the shadow of its echo forge this elastic rhythm to which are grafted various keyboard chords and their echoes, and good percussion that solidify the base of this unexpected Berlin School. The rhythm continues to gather various musical ingredients that make the music utterly exquisite. This approach is echoed in the very good and more static Take Your Leap and its dance of thunders.

ambient music album with dreamy harmony

Feeling the Flow is one of the short titles in this collection of 11 musical pieces to grace the panoramas of BEFORE COMPLETION. Its opening is perfumed by the musical breezes of an alto flute that layers it with dreamy harmony. The rhythmic structure that emerges is of the shy, furtive kind, like the hesitant steps of a wolf watching a prey too nimble for him. The bass stretches out a vampiric cloak, tinkling with stars in formation, while the synth spreads a glowing, ochre-tinted layer. The fluty harmonies take the ascendancy over the rhythm which hatch with difficulty, guided mainly by the hesitant chords of the bass and its zigzagging arabesques. Another beautiful fluty ode is at the origin of In Her Open Eyes, which develops into a fascinating tribal rhythm in which the organic beats/croaks stretch out a seductively elastic gallop. Music for classic Western movies! Guided by the piano and its undulating melodic lines, Diving develops into a repetitive nursery rhyme where cadenced rattles tap-dance in a form of rhythmic canon sliced clear-cut by the orchestrations.

We’re not far from the world of Philip Glass here, as in other places on the album. In particular with its last title Culmination is Transient, which quietly develops into a seductive astral tribal dance. And if you like this genre, a track like Unveiling that Cosmic Love Wave has all the attributes to seduce you. An excellent track! Follow Me in the Rainbow Haze is a short track driven by acoustic chords that structure a jerky rhythm with zigzagging loops that are caressed by other beautiful fluty odes. A keyboard sows melodious chords that sparkle in a panorama of reveries.

Yes, it’s the same every time! And yet it’s always beautiful and immensely poetic.

Sylvain Lupari (June 25th, 2023) ****½*