Info: When Belfast's Arvo Party released his self-titled debut album last summer it was a seismic moment for me, it changed how I thought about Irish electronic music, as with other genres over the past number of years, there was no longer a need to look outwards for great music anymore, there was a gold standard right underneath our noses. Thankfully the wait for another LP hasn't been long, with Herb Magee releasing his sophomore album II only this week.
Opening track 'Nostalgia' lays the first stepping stone for II, mental disorientation is set in motion, through sound Arvo Party creates flickering lights, this is like one of those sci-fi scenes where the crew of a ship are put into torpor for a journey that will take months or years. The sense of detachment in the music works on a number of levels, the listener feels detached from their current reality, and the music itself is somehow detached from us, indifferent to how we feel or react.
At the beginning of 'Lilac Arch' we hear the crackling of kindling, perhaps a little reminder of our primitive origins on this cosmic voyage, perhaps not! The most soothing of piano progressions creates a sense of great calm, we are about to get our first full blast of ambient electronic majesty, it's exciting to hear the distant beat slowly arriving with great intent, isn't it a little bit surreal just how mellow proceedings are here?
I'm only at the third track, 'Dada', and I'm already completely suspended, like some weird and wonderful Tibetan chant that has been warped and placed in a capsule, rolling aimlessly through the darkness of space, the song is trying to communicate with us in a language we don't understand. Oh gosh, 'Liberté', it's one of those singles that I just won't shut up talking about, won't / can't stop listening to, and am without equivocation mesmerised by. I'm not joking when I say I've probably listened to this track almost 100 times since it was released, and she's still fresh as a daisy to my ears. The synth is the most rewarding caress, I love the underwater feel at 2:58, and then how the track pops straight back out again at 3:40, Jesus it's beautiful, energising, smile-inducing, and so fucking cool.
'Number93', hands up who thinks this should be on the OST of Blade Runner? A crackling sonic rainfall drops on pink and purple neon reflected footpaths, this is another overt example of how Arvo Party removes you from here, if listened to in a dark room with eyes closed and headphones on, who knows where your brain will be taken to.
We get whipped straight out of our slumber on another single, '(DUST)', like 'Liberté', Magee is gratuitous with the provision of full fat chunky synths, slamming down on our heads like the hammers inside a piano. It's ridiculously spacey and palpable how much enjoyment the artist must have had creating this song. 'D a N S E' is quite different to 'DUST', fans of Four Tet will have a very positive inclination towards what we hear here, plenty of sharp clicks and squeezed to the point of bursting beats. After an unostentatious yet bubbling first two minutes, we have a sudden mini shut-down which lasts no more than 5 seconds, then the second cycle begins and we lift off once again. There's a hidden frustration and aggression lurking just beneath the surface here, desperately waiting to break out of the cocoon of suffocation.
Coming in at over 7 and a half minutes, '37 Degrees' is a mammoth of various electronic styles, industrial, ambient, downtempo, to name a few, we've had plenty of our own treats along the way and now it's time for Arvo Party to fully indulge his own instincts in the most free-form manner. After the early-Mount Kimbie stylings of 'Furneter', comes the transcendental moods of 'Tannenbaum', in my mind it sparks further cosmological imagery, the last heaving gasps of an ancient dying star which is about to be finally extinguished, but whose light will still travel to Earth for millions of years.
In a surprise ending, Arvo Party opts for a piano-led closing scene, the sometimes manic rush and pace of II hits the breaks, time to reflect or to take in the myriad of destinations Magee has taken us on over the previous 11 tracks. And what a breath-taking and stunning trip it has been, I feel like II is a more coherent journey than the previous album, (which tied itself nicely together and never felt fractured in any way), but there is definitely a tighter vision on display here, it is the perfect example of order and chaos within an album, but almost occurring naturally rather than deliberately. There is no question now that Arvo Party is at the forefront of creative electronic music in Ireland, it's now only a question of how long before his music takes its grip on places further afield in the same way.
Like / Listen & Follow:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArvoParty/
Bandcamp: https://arvoparty.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/501qtHzk03idTdBl5OE6CV?si=YTQefsujQL-WJlFpl-HXRg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/arvoparty
Coming in at over 7 and a half minutes, '37 Degrees' is a mammoth of various electronic styles, industrial, ambient, downtempo, to name a few, we've had plenty of our own treats along the way and now it's time for Arvo Party to fully indulge his own instincts in the most free-form manner. After the early-Mount Kimbie stylings of 'Furneter', comes the transcendental moods of 'Tannenbaum', in my mind it sparks further cosmological imagery, the last heaving gasps of an ancient dying star which is about to be finally extinguished, but whose light will still travel to Earth for millions of years.
In a surprise ending, Arvo Party opts for a piano-led closing scene, the sometimes manic rush and pace of II hits the breaks, time to reflect or to take in the myriad of destinations Magee has taken us on over the previous 11 tracks. And what a breath-taking and stunning trip it has been, I feel like II is a more coherent journey than the previous album, (which tied itself nicely together and never felt fractured in any way), but there is definitely a tighter vision on display here, it is the perfect example of order and chaos within an album, but almost occurring naturally rather than deliberately. There is no question now that Arvo Party is at the forefront of creative electronic music in Ireland, it's now only a question of how long before his music takes its grip on places further afield in the same way.
Like / Listen & Follow:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArvoParty/
Bandcamp: https://arvoparty.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/501qtHzk03idTdBl5OE6CV?si=YTQefsujQL-WJlFpl-HXRg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/arvoparty
