Artist: Erik Wøllo
Album: Wind Journey

Label: Spotted Peccary

Wind Journey   Erik Wollo
The brief moment between pushing "play" and hearing the opening notes of Wind Journey by Erik Wøllo, can only be likened to the anticipation experienced at the head of a scenic mountain trail - a path where your footprints will be the first in quite some time. What lies ahead promises to be vivid, intoxicating and affirming. Upon listening to Wind Journey, it becomes obvious why this album is constantly being associated with rugged landscapes, sweeping mountain ranges and vast coastal fjords. Wøllo's work here is the musical equivalent of crossing a majestic landscape, over the earth and beneath the stars.

Wøllo's dynamic sonic expeditions are well-conceived and melody driven. Lofty guitar themes intermingle easily with regal synth lines, cleverly crafted so as to be nearly indistinguishable. The voyage is propelled, often briskly, over a foundation of ticking percussives and syncopated slide. Wind Journey also has its share of introspective, even tender moments. These expressive and gentle serenades are surely some of contemporary instrumental's warmest passages. The album is an overwhelmingly positive listening experience, completely unselfconscious, bringing air and light to our internal listening space.

- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END   24 January 2002


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