Flickers Beyond by Roberto Rodriguez
Heartfelt, emotional electronic music
I believe Finnish label Signature Dark, purveyors of fine, dark electronic music, may be an undiscovered delight for many. What releases do you know? None?
Covering a broad plain between Ambient and Techno, with diversions into Dub and Jazz, there's been many highlights over the years. For Dub Techno fans try Trisector's Quiet Balance or Satoi & Aleksi Myllykoski's Delayed Constructive Dialogues. Empath's Ambient Music for Hypnagogia is ghostly and experimental, while Happiness' self-titled album is not quite Ambient... and utterly sublime. My favourite so far (based on listens at least) is On The Border by Rinne & Majamäki, a meditation on mindfulness using metal percussion instruments and woodwind instruments. We focused on sensing the mutual resonance of the instruments and the sensitivity of improvisation. A presence on the border of the familiar and the unknown.
If you haven't got the time to investigate any of these, at least consider checking out the new album from Roberto Rodriguez. Flickers Beyond is quite the leap from his earlier Deep House tracks, instead focusing on sweeping atmospheres and cinematic vistas; the title track in particular is a good example. Immersive, soothing and revitalising, it's Ambient music minus the obvious traits. Iris Reflected combines experimental percussion with ricocheting arpeggios. Echoes from Tomorrow overlays crackly textures with beautiful, haunting strings. My fav is Pantheon for the the same feelings Tobias Preisig's violin gave me:
As a Scotsman, I'm very familiar with the emotional heave of the bagpipes; their mourning wail can decisively wreck the coldest, meanest facade, curiously pinching a part of the human soul buried centuries deep. An obvious reference is Mull Of Kintyre by Wings with its joyfully devastating piped melody that provokes goosebumps every time. The slow tempo and sustained notes are the key takeaway here, an element which Swiss violinist Tobias Preisig judiciously employs on his new album.
... that repetitive siren blast strikes me deep each time. Wonderful. And what a rousing finish with Curtain Call.