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THE [LAW-RAH] COLLECTIVE: Solitaire CD Raubbau |
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Contributed by Tony Young
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Wednesday, 28 October 2009 |
 Another highly anticipated release for me; I am always eager to hear anything from the collective as it feeds my penchant for all things ambient.
‘Solitaire’ seems to be based around a collection of memories from years past; thinking of the place you once lived and the emotions that swell up from those small rifts in time that heighten your senses such as fragrances and sounds that trigger all those elements that make life what it is.
As with many releases by Law-Rah, there is always the impression of being somewhere on your own, each track feeling somewhat personal; like a game of Chinese whispers however you can say one thing to someone that eventually becomes something else in time and therefore becomes an entirely different tale and therefore the memory of what you are and whom you were changes; Solitaire takes you back to the originating source of your individuality and strips it bare to the bones leaving you naked somewhat and in a sense has an underlying purity about it; much the same way as the compositions themselves.
Onto the music itself; in the past Bauke Van Der Wal (and more recently) with the addition of Matijn Pieck concentrated on drone work alone with the occasional glitch to break up the mood; here the ante has been upped another step since their last glorious opus “Inspiration’; The sound is has expanded out incorporating more orchestral additions breathing in and out of the mix of the albums entirety that raise the emotion levels up and beyond, occasionally sourcing dull singular piano strokes that are as empty as they are effective when engaging the subject matter.
So here we have it, the seventh full-length album; ‘Solitaire’ it has to be said is most probably one of their best to date, which alongside the afore-mentioned ‘Inspiration’ surely will be revered as a true ambient masterpiece for years to come.
9.5/10
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