Introduction
Artist: Palsekam
Title / Release Page: Good Morning Althea
Release Date: 2014 Nov 15
Genre: IDM / Ambient
License: CC BY-NC-ND
Media: MP3 / OGG / FLAC
Pricing: Free / Donation
Label: Nenormalizm
Rating: ★★★★★★★★
So, after some time away I’m back with some new material. As before the review queue is over-stuffed, and that was before the five or six releases that popped into my inbox today. But, before I start getting to new releases, there are still a few like Palsekam – Good Morning Althea in my queue from last year that I want to get to.
Palsekam – Good Morning Althea
Palsekam is Alexandr Kravcov, and this appears to be his third foray into the electronic music scene (according to his Discogs profile). This release grabbed my attention because my initial impression was not complete. That is, I thought I was in for an IDM style release, only to find the tone of the music to be quite different as I moved into the later tracks.
I was up for a solid IDM release. The first few tracks on this release really impressed. From the opening of “Intro” with it’s open, wafting sounds. “Mr. Experto” set what I thought was the tone for the release with a solidly IDM piece.
And I could say it doesn’t let up with “Good Morning Althea” which bears more than a passing resemblance to Aphex Twin style music.
But where things start getting different is “Ertisa”, a track that is more ambient drone, than it is IDM. But ti’s not a pure drone, it has a complex rhythm and other sequenced bits layered on top of the drones. What is interesting to me is that this doesn’t change the track from being an ambient piece. It definitely maintains characteristics of being ambient, despite trying to break from some of the ambient elements.
But this is what makes this release interesting. On one hand, Palsem has written and recorded some very fine IDM tunes, but he cannot resist wandering over to the ambient side and exploring it. It seems like he is trying to find a merged ground of ambient and IDM, and yet never quite gets there.
But this release still has the ability to enthrall the listener. It’s a moody, shifting tapestry of sounds. It’s experimental without calling attention to itself, and that makes it worth the time listening.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed this release. It’s a bit of a wander through IDM, ambient and experimental forms of electronic music. And yet no one style overwhelms the others, making the balance quite enjoyable.