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The wonder of Jeff Greinke is how his field of vision keeps expanding. An artist dreaming about transformation, about the world as it could be, his decades long discography commands a craft and capability unknown to most musicians. Each conducted in a methodical movement the nine pieces on Noctilucent (57'56") possess a lustrous tone, which registers in the cooler zones of the atmospheric weatherglass. From tender soundscapes for hollowed out souls, and tenuous, billowing phenomena, its stark electronic incantations are shadowed by a higher majesty felt in Greinke's remarkable sonic architecture. There is even a fleet sequencer piece placed about midway through - where, taut and tricky, this album's scope is widened and contrasts heightened. Turning shadows into recognizable Ambient Music, this release reveals its beauty slowly and intelligently. Vaporous and shadowy, completely in its own head, tracks burn best in the more measured moments. The softer this music falls, the longer we dwell upon it, and the deeper it sinks into the mind. Searching the range of consonance and dissonance, timbre and shade, ambience and aura, these gently resounding works thrive and wither each over a brief span - somehow elevated by our focussed attention. Throughout its run Noctilucent is neither completely lit nor entirely dark. It presents a subdued mystery, which it never intends to answer - that duty is left entirely to the listener.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 17 March 2022 |
