aAirial - "Le Fil Du Temps"

Artist: aAirial
Album: Le Fil Du Temps
Year: 2009
Label: Laridae
Genre: IDM, Ambient
Website: http://www.myspace.com/aairial
this album on discogs: here

 

 



Basics:
Slightly older release from aAirial. I had seen this project's name on IDM compilations previously, but I had never checked out his work. "Le Fil Du Temps" is a fairly standard IDM/Ambient affair which is available as a free digital release from Laridae. Though a bit straightforward, it offers deep, organic atmosphere combined with beautiful, somber melodies, and ersatz, glitchy-but-never-abrasive, percussion.

Good stuff:
+ Style. I love this style. A fantastic blend of wistful atmospheres and clicky beats. The album relies heavily on droning pads and plucky, emotive melodies. Both elements work together extremely well to build up a thick, ever-present mood. The melodies are very catchy. The beats are exactly what I enjoy from this style of music: a bit subtle, but without compromising complexity or glitching. They are mixed in just right: not in your face, but not in the background either. While the synths carry an organic vibe, the beats add a nice synthetic edge that transforms the atmosphere into a more artificial, idealistic version of an 'organic' reality. This is one thing that really draws me to IDM, and aAirial does it brilliantly. The whole album is very dreamy; it's almost impossible not to feel your consciousness falling deeply into these soundscapes.

+ One of the additional pluses of this style is the ease of listening. It's a very calm album that you can throw on in the background and drift off to, but it's also complex enough to hold your attention should you wish to listen closer.

+ Sound design. The sound design, while nothing totally new, is great at what it is trying to achieve. Each track has a very similar mood, but the sounds are different enough so that the record does not get monotonous.

+ Production. The production, though a bit on the loud/limited side, is generally good. All the elements have their own space and mix together well.

Bad stuff:
- The only negative thing about this album is that the songs are all so short (nothing over 4 minutes), and it feels like aAirial could have done more to develop them. As it is, they each feel solely like a single idea, which is fine, but the idea never develops or evolves.

Summary:
While "Le Fin Du Temps" isn't anything groundbreaking in the field of IDM/Ambient, aAirial is quite proficient at what he does. Overall, this is an amazingly beautiful & pensive piece of work, and it should be in the collection of any fan of the style. It's a free digital release so what are you waiting for? I've had this on repeat since it was sent to me a few days ago.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10