Monday, August 5, 2024

REVIEW: RUDY ADRIAN - Reflections On A Moonlit Lake

Reflections on a Moonlit Lake

My first exposure to Rudy Adrian's music was when he released Twilight in 1999 which I could swear I reviewed but I can't find it anywhere in my hard drive archives. I do remember being impressed with this relative newcomer to the spacemusic/ambient and EM genres. However, I could not have foreseen how his career would blossom to the degree that it has with now over 20 recordings to his credit. And, in my estimation, he just keeps getting better. He seems to have left his EM/sequencer days behind in 2006 (the exception being 2017's Sequencer Rarities) and he now concentrates his considerable talent on ambient soundscapes that reflect a deep connection with all manner of nature, as witnessed by some of his album titles (The Healing Lake – 2000, Desert Realms- 2008, Coastlines – 2016, Woodlands – 2019).
 
Adrian excels at several of the aspects of spacemusic/ambient music, e.g. the deft layering of the assorted sounds, keyboards, textures, all of it yielding a whole which always surpasses the sum of its parts. Another way he distinguishes himself is limiting the duration of pieces, i.e., no one track overstays its welcome. Three, the cohesion of his compositions is always around a central theme or backdrop.
 
Reflections on a Moonlit Lake features eleven tracks, nothing longer than 7:59 in duration, and the music is some of Adrian's most relaxing and soothing in recent years, which one might expect given the album title and inspiration. Per the liner notes (written by Adrian) "This album was created to evoke the experience of a lakeside view in the wilderness. I hope the music captures the calm and serenity of such a place." Well, growing up and living in the upper Midwest (Wisconsin and Minnesota), I've spent my share of time at wilderness lakes and yes, the music here would make a superlative backdrop for whiling away the twilight (and deep night) hours gazing at how a full moon glistens off the still waters of a lake surrounded by woods of pines, oaks, and birches. All that's missing would be (for Minnesotans), the plaintive call of loons or the occasional hoot of an owl.
 
Now, for those unfamiliar with Rudy Adrian's work, while it's undeniably ambient in nature and scope, it can gravitate from a warm mood to one more neutral in evocation, e.g., "Midnight Angel" brushes against shadow and mystery via minor key piano whereas the piano on "Lunar Shadow" perfectly captures a feeling of contentment as it patiently unfurls against a backdrop of classic spacemusic synth washes. The closest that the album gets to true darkness is in the aptly-titled "Within The Darkness" which does paint a picture of a certain eeriness in one's surrounding, but it's done so well with an assortment of textures and keyboard sounds that it fits in nicely alongside warmer cuts such as the title track or the album closer "Summer Night Rain" which features equal parts semi-drone washes and actual rain falling sounds.
 
Reflections on a Moonlit Lake is filled with excellent drifting ambient music that one can either listen to intently, visualizing the album's titular landscape or played in the background allowing the sounds to soak into the room and color the environment in a noticeable but unobtrusive sense of calm and repose. Because there are no abrupt shifts in overall tone, I imagine it'd be a great "fall asleep to" album as well.  
 
Over his two-plus decades of making music, Rudy Adrian has established himself as one of brightest beacons in the world of crafting ambient soundscapes that invite the listener to dive into the music and enjoy the experience in any capacity whatsoever.
 
ALBUM DETAILS
All music written, performed, recorded and mixed by Rudy Adrian
Album mastered by Howard Givens at Spotted Peccary Studios NW, Portland, OR
Design by Daniel Pipitone at Spotted Peccary Studios NE, Ligonier, PA
Imagery created by Jourdan Laik
Portrait photography by Jared Mason
 
 

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