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After three releases, German synthesist Ralf Gülpen takes a bigger approach releasing two double albums simultaneously, each focusing on one of the four elements. All consist of 8 parts that flow smoothly into each other and have exactly the same playing time (75.04). In terms of music and sounds, “Water & Air” builds on the previous releases in a moody, serene-atmospheric way. Subtle, minimalist rhythmic structures, beats, and smooth, restrained sequences form the core of the music together with warm, expansive, slowly transforming textures. Solo sounds as well as the occasional preset flute/sax – which bothered me quite a bit on the previous releases – fortunately remain absent on the cool, almost enchanting “Water” and together form an extremely relaxed, atmospheric whole. Compared to the previous disc, “Air” sounds more active and the musician serves (fortunately briefly) the pre-set solo bits a few times in the beginning. However, Ralf is at his best when the music shifts to warm, expansive, and introspective soundscapes without any rhythm as heard in the fine “part 4”. It’s a pity that in the second half the music becomes light-hearted and shifts more and more to something lounge-like (part 6 in particular), and that it stays that way until the end. So overall: “Water” 4 stars, “Air” 3 stars. Website: groove.nl Website: tiratheartofdance.bandcamp.com You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the TiRa artist page. |
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