Tuesday 24 May 2011

Riding The Air Over The Cloud Mountains


Mountains is a duo of sonic explorers, traveling the lines between acoustic and electronic music and creating some of the most densely layered and blissful music Ive heard all year. Im not sure what some of the detractors of this album are harping on about - sure, this is my entry point to Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp's soundscapes, all glistening warm synth, modular effects and panoramic aurality. It signifies Mountains’ first to use an entierly analog process of sound manipulation, which is so hard to fathom - Air Museum offers a suite of music that is seamless in its Vangelis-like electronic synthetics. There are tracks that stand well on their own, such as ''Thousand Square' and 'Sequel', but they become stronger when set in their place in the album. I was not sure what to expect when listening to this album - but Im very impressed. Its glacial and languid in its beauty, yet the sounds arent natural - they are bound within their own futuristic web. The fact that its been on repeat today, says more than anything else I could mention really. Mountains are something special - delve into their world.


You can get Air Museum from Thrill Jockey here. Mountains play at Cafe Oto in London tomorrow night - make sure you grab tickets, cos this is going to be something special...

Mountains - Thousand Square
Mountains - Sequel

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