Sounds like…
Hypnotic new age drones
The review
‘Elements’ is a wholesome and hypnotic new-age ambience album from Richard Norris. The five tracks take on Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space providing a living breathing musical ecosystem. It is a lovely mood piece to relax to that pinches at your imagination.
The opening two tracks were the ones which clicked with me the most. ‘Earth’ is a synthetic kaleidoscope of bleeps that remind me of Kate Aurelia Smith’s most recent album. Both warm and cyclic, you tune into its repetitive nature and pulsates in your ears. Subtle changes keep things interesting but the track has a lot of forward thrust to keep ambient lovers entertained. The same can said for ‘Water’ which mixes sound recordings with synth drones and beautiful choral vocal samples. The water sounds like it has a cascading voice as the singing bursts out then fades into the synths. There is an element of The Mysterious Voices of Bulgaria about it which makes it feel beautiful, ancient, wise and primal all at the same time.
‘Fire’ felt like a more bass-driven twin to ‘Earth’ to me and the two go well hand in hand. In a similar vein, the softest tracks ‘Air and ‘Space’ also twin each other. The hazy breathy organ synths flutter around the dronescapes elegantly. However, much like their elements, I didn’t notice them making the immediate impact sonically to me. I’m sure they’ll grow over time.
Fans of new age drones, analogue synths and experimental electronica will find things to enjoy here. Richard Norris takes his time creating long meditative pieces that you can sink into and that’s what makes the music more than the sum of its parts. A little gem of ambience to cleanse your musical palette.
Recommended track: Water
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Richard Norris - Elements
Thanks for the review, glad you liked it. Thought I’d mention that the voice on Water is Bishi. Massed Bishi’s in fact, rather than a sample. She was taught by the leader of the Bulgarian choir which is why she sounds a lot like them here. Thanks!