ERIK WOLLO Timelines (CD on Projekt)
This CD from 2014 features 54 minutes of dreamy electronic music.
Wollo blends conventional and uber processed guitar with electronics to produce tuneage of a dreamy nature.
The use of treated guitars is not as extravagant here as is usual for Wollo. Instead, there's a profusion of natural guitarwork going on in these song, some of it even acoustic, all of it gentle and delicate. Strumming, plucking and picking, these normal guitar strains lend a particularly organic quality to the music. When the guitar does go electronic, it remains sedated, restrained.
Again, while electronics are present, straightforward keyboards are more pronounced in this music. These keys often contribute a regal classical edge to the compositions, especially Wollo's application of piano.
But fear not, there's enough electronics to balance out all this natural instrumentation. Softly whispering synthetic breezes wind through the songs.
Some percussion is utilized, lending soft rhythms to the flowing tuneage. In fact, the light drumming evokes a tasty cafe jazz flair in one track.
These compositions explore a stately sense of relaxation. There's oomph there, but it tends to be moodier and almost subliminal, just the right amount of punch to elevate the tunes from ambience to substantial music. The fusion of guitar and keys is delightful, generating infectious melodies that linger in the forebrain once the album is over.
IAN BODDY & ERIK WOLLO EC12 (CD on DiN)
This CD from 2014 offers 79 minutes of alluring electronic music.
Wollo's guitar treatments blend nicely with Boddy's electronics to produce energized relaxation music.
The electronics abound here, from airy background tonalities to strident sequences to twinkling riffs. Keyboards are employed to guide sultry riffs along sinuous paths. There's a smooth demeanor to the flow generated by the electronics.
The guitar is often processed, but not always. There are several passages in which one can readily identify the sounds as issuing from strings, albeit often coaxed into shrill sustains. But some straight-ahead conventional electric guitar is present, adding a tasty twang to the melodies. Meanwhile, the treatments run a full gamut from textural tones to sounds one would never believe originate from a guitar.
Rhythms play a vital role in this tuneage, establishing complex tempos that serve to lend additional oomph to the already spry tunes. The beats are softened, however, so they are not intrusive, injecting a healthy locomotion to the flow. The chugging rhythms often express an endearing character.
These compositions are crafted to delight fans of both contemporary electronics and slightly animated ambient music. The songs exhibit a perfect balance of agility and tranquility, expertly fusing these two opposites into a wondrous sonic gestalt. Dreamy pastiches are enlivened by spry rhythms, concocting tunes of a glistening nature. For the album's final track, the rhythms adopt a real drum timbre and belt out dominating tempos, which are thusly accompanied by searing guitarwork and urgent keyboard electronics, all building to a dazzling crescendo.
ERIK WOLLO Tundra (DDL EP on Projekt)
This release from 2014 features 29 minutes of gentle electronic music.
Soothing electronic tuneage is injected with a touch of animation, resulting in satisfyingly substantial sonic excursions.
Eerie vocal effects with hints of the Middle East flavor the first piece's icy electronics. Chugging beats propel the melody amid a swirling pool of twinkling keyboards. Winsome guitar tonalities lend the song an airy subliminal temperament.
In the next track, a pensive beat and slippery keyboards usher in some ghostly twangy guitar that wavers like a translucent facade while the rhythms and keyboard flow are washed over by a gently whispery cascade.
The third song adopts a bouncier attitude, tempered by dreamy key sweeps and a cyclic electronic sequence of fragile definition. Additional keys season the mix with a lovely melody.
Mystical vocal loops begin the fourth piece, and are soon joined by clinking soft rhythms and eerie background electronic effects that evoke a mounting nightscape. The tempos muster strength and the electronics switch to approximating remote seashore sounds. The result is attractively mesmerizing.
The final track glistens with sparkling electronics in tandem with softly colliding chimes. A gentle melody emerges, tinged with astral qualities, and endures with holistic persistence.
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