Review: Perennial man-of-mystery Arandel returns with the belated follow-up to his acclaimed 2010 debut album In D, the title of which offered a cheeky nod to the work of Terry Riley and other American avant-garde composers. Like its predecessor, Solarispellis was composed entirely using his own instruments and analogue gear, with no MIDI, plug-ins or contemporary trickery. Flitting between unearthly ambience, bubbling themes for imaginary computer games and loose, high-minded tributes to American minimalism, it's a surprisingly wide-ranging set. While it's his love of modern classical music that inspired the more complex pieces, it's the electronic-only curiosities - like library music from another dimension - that impress the most.
Review: Arandel sits somewhere on the boundary between electronic and classical music. Released on the always excellent In Fine imprint, his debut album In D is a richly textured exploration of these boundaries - the result being something that is equally applicable as headphone listening or club fodder. The music itself is entirely organic, with the producer (who has thus far managed to remain anonymous) exclusively using real instruments without the help of MIDI, samples or digital sounds. "In D#5" is a notable highlight, with delicate chimes and a nagging bassline that blows you away with its subtlety, while "In D#7" builds into a solid late night jam. Be sure to check out the bonus track "Overture" too, which brings the album to a moody, beatless close. This is one for fans of Four Tet, Pantha Du Prince, Steve Reid and Kieran Hebden.
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