Sounds like…
Neon lights playing a symphonic suite
The review
Blurring the lines of classical and electronica, Blomma has created a wonderful debut album with their self-titled release. Blomma are keyboard and pianists Jacob Pavek and Philip Daniel. The pair work together to create a rhythmic flow of music that is both relaxing and thoughtful.
Across the albums nine lengthy tracks, each song usually starts out with a simple chord structure on piano, synth or string and things develop from there. Often the instruments move between melodically pretty and reflective like ocean waves. We have heard this style of music many times before and many artists tend to rest on their laurels when songs are spacious. Blomma keeps every track evolving and they do it in a nuanced way. Your ears are always picking up new sounds and that comes down to clever production. Instruments move shape and frequency. Synths fade in and out.
What makes Blomma stand out for me is how each track flows effortlessly. The songs have a rhythmic stream of thought to them that sucks you in. The keyboards on the opening track ‘Marrow’ could be in a sci-fi movie or an earth time-lapse video for instance. ‘Disco’ has clever percussive beats that evoke experimental electronica musicians like Heinali. Elsewhere the duo moves into reflective territory with ‘Neon’ and ‘August’. Here the strings and soft synth pads feel warm and homely. The latter has a percussive splash like the track is paddling water in the background – it feels beautiful to listen to.
My personal favourite track is ‘Mountain’. This piece picks a little bit of everything and adds a little bit of Philip Glass to the mix. It feels grand, dramatic, foreboding and luscious all at the same time – quite a difficult mix to achieve! The album then concludes with ‘Finale’ which is a live string arrangement that ends in applause. I think it speaks to the layering and beauty of the electronics on the album that the live string finale doesn’t feel out of place or any more emotive than the rest.
Blomma has created a fantastic journey to listen to with their debut album. It is one of those timeless pieces of music you can get lost in and then forget 48 minutes has gone by. Equal parts epic and tender, ‘Blomma’ is an album that should feature highly on peoples best of year lists for classical and electronica. Stunning.
Recommended track: Mountain
Blomma - Blomma
