“Moon is a must for fans of very luxurious and finely decorated lunar vibes and where the impossible seems to be at the tip of our dreams”
1 Moon-1 38:22 2 Moon-2 15:22 Paul Lawler Music
(DDL 53:44) (V.F.) (Ambient cosmic music)
The Moon! Its beauty and its mysteries is the new challenge of Arcane. In an absolutely delicious sound decoration and especially very enveloping, MOON pursues the sound and musical experiments of the modular synths that Paul Lawler undertook with the very immersive and ambient Black Night. Ambient music!? Yes and you should not run away before having read this chronicle, because this last Paul Lawler's opus can be compared as one of the most beautiful lunar ode to this planet that only few artist have succeed to make it so attractive into music than like the eyes can see through the lens of a telescope. MOON is sublime due to its soundscape and its texture which feed the hearing of a curiosity as starving as our eyes, this portal towards our imagination …
A captivating wave seize our ears, here the headset is of a big importance, with a slow balance which reminds these movements of waves which oscillate slowly in a long glass rectangle. The sound is full of small particles, like sound polyps, which sparkle around this wave which little by little unfolds a more musical influence. Other layers get grafted to this slow lunar waltz and the modulations become entangled like a one and only one sound entity which seems to be lost in the craters of the Sea of Tranquility. The movement is very slow and we have the impression to be sucked up by the void. Paul Lawler decorates here his floating layers of mechanical snores and of small parasitic noises which can fool the panic to a claustrophobic. By doing this, the slowness of the evolution of Moon-1 seems to fool its chronometer. The slow movement caresses moments of pinnacles without sprawling there, teasing rather any rhythmic approach which will arrive by surprise around the 10th minute. Pulsations awake the atmospheres with sharp oscillations. A movement of sequences invites itself before the 12 minutes, sculpting a more fragile but so lively impulse, whereas melodious synth layers are wrapping this weak swiftness. Moon-1 dives back into its mysterious mirages after the point of 15 minutes. The cosmic surroundings swallow this momentary rhythm, bringing back the title towards a ambiospherical heaviness where get lost other bits of sequences into the abysses dug by heavy and hollow layers. But everything is not still so black, nor of lost ambiences in the 2nd phase of Moon-1. The 25th minute reveals a brighter sound scenario while the title sinks into one finale which is clouded of howling strata. Strata which get out of breath too fast and of which the respite let hear a plenitude of sound effects which sparkle in a last momentum of storm before the vibes get worn out into fractions of ambient rhythm which crumble between two ears bewildered by a music of lunar moods as much fascinating as the images of 2001: A Space Odyssey. At the level of the dark atmospheres, Moon-2 is all the opposite of its older brother. More luminous and more orchestral, layers soaked of voices waltz around felted explosions and around interstellar noises. This music creates eddies of imagination in my head while small scenarios of movies follow this music which remains stuck on my earphones. Shorter of more than 23 minutes, Moon-2 gives the impression of being more fed by strikes of rhythms. But there's only one and a very beautiful one which appears in the bends of ear-catching lunar oscillations s little before the 9 minutes. The rhythm is supported by bass pulsations and pecked by metallic small wings which nibble at the vibes. The sequencer sculpts contiguous movements which spread delicious spasmodic lines. The percussions add more dynamism while the finale approaches at big step. A delicious final by the way where a piano more than charmer disperses its notes, like these rainy drops which get lost in the memory lapse. Here you are, you know now why I liked this MOON so much! An unavoidable album for fans of very luxurious and finely decorated lunar vibes and where the impossible seems to be at the tip of our dreams. Sylvain Lupari (August 27th, 2017) ****¼*
Available at Paul Lawler Bandcamp