A soothing glimmering comes out of the horizon on Hirotaka Shirotsubaki’s “Last Goodbye”. Such lush sound it is easy to get lost in its many aural curls. Truly lovely the melodies have a tremendous richness to them akin to grand almost lost symphonies. It is a testament to their skill that these sounds are recovered from the skies and gently brought back down to Earth. Best of all these songs neatly fold into each other creating a rich tapestry of sound that recalls William Basinski, Stars of the Lid, and Stephan Mathieu’s elaborate ghostly emissions.
The aptly named “Autumn Blanket” explores the concept of decay in the best way possible. Radiating tremendous warmth, the piece at times feels akin to radiators starting up in an old creaky apartment building a welcome sound for sure of those wordless choirs. Continuing down this path “December Snow” captures the intrinsic happiness that comes from watching snow from so far away, noticing the seasonal changes and being completely protected from the elements. Low-slung little drones merge to become one with the blissful “Minatogawa”. Slick forms of minimalism take shape on the album highlight, the pastoral grandeur of “Rokko” which recalls vast open spaces. Ebbing and flowing in a contemplative way “solitude” has a unique, deeply moving quality behind it. Nearly otherworldly, the classical cadences of “Sputnik” has a cleverness to it as it brings the album to a close. Achingly beautiful, Hirotaka Shirotsubaki’s “Last Goodbye” goes for a natural sort of grace one that seems timeless.
Link
—————————————————————————————-
A painterly patience persists throughout the whole of øjeRum’s ghostly “The Forest Is Sleeping Within The Trees”. Dissecting bits of classical to reveal its true soulfulness everything about these pieces radiates a bit of mystery. Inclusion of tiny details, from little creaks of noise to larger-scale drones. By including so much the aural universe feels real and fully formed. Carefully crafted melodies linger in gorgeous haze for far longer, as nothing ever really fully disappears. Everything about the album ensures that the memories exist and persist long after the pieces have ended. Letting each piece contain its own unique style while cutting from the same cloth means the entirety comes together in a unified whole.
Slow and steady “Part 1” has a nostalgic hue to it as the rhythm is ever so light and gentle. Akin to a form of tiptoeing, the piece never overwhelms. On “Part 2” an aching yearning takes over as the song further evolves with its own spirit, at times recalling William Basinski’s “Melancholia”. Things stretch out a little bit on the dreamy hue of “Part 3”. “Part 4” almost perfectly dovetails into the last piece, as it brings new detail to the theme. Further dissecting it comes “Part 5”. Highly elegant with its refined deeper frequencies “Part 6” ends the album on a stately note.
“The Forest Is Sleeping Within The Trees” shows off øjeRum’s uncanny knack to create whole worlds, ones just beyond perception.
Link
Krysalisound 