| Artist: The Circular Ruins Album: The Alchemy Concert Released: 10 December 2004 |  |
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Electronic Music realized in a live performance often possesses a quality unattainable in studio works. In the practiced spontaneity of live improvisation, what is played next really matters as one cannot go back and recapture any given moment once it has past. On The Alchemy Concert (69'20") by The Circular Ruins (Anthony Paul Kerby), the music was created live before an unseen Internet audience. Even though the eight tracks are each a work unto itself, the album provides a coherent listening experience. The overall mood of The Alchemy Concert is pretty mellow. Beats and rhythms are introduced slowly and provide a soft foundation upon which calm and silvery synthesizer pads float. Choices in the way of timbre and tonality reveal an artist who can trace his heritage back to the chillout room - where perceptions vary with the individual. The compositions themselves seem to have a basic structure, around which Kirby adds the motion of melody, harmony and spacey effects. This album centers on calm and friendly sonic fantasies but does offer contrasting sounds with the occasional darkening air castle or cross modulation. These moments add a small amount of nonconformity and uncertainty to the overall experience, which is ultimately less about music than it is state of mind.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 24 March 2005 | |
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