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Erik Wøllo believes that the greatest calling lies in contributing to the world's store of beauty. Throughout a celebrated career he has displayed a radiant receptivity to this labor. The Shape of Time (62'30") is more than just ten tracks of ethereal music - they are symphonies of thought, miniature manifestos of reason, odes to the realization of existence, and pulsing with an aliveness quite real. With an extraordinary musical elegance and generosity of spirit, his work furtively constellates into a masterwork of Spacemusic. Realized with an artist's fervor for expression, The Shape of Time plays out into a world that will only be the better for having heard it. As meaning blurs into music we are drawn into the nocturnal landscape of the mind - where ultimate truth resides. Dark spheres of harmony congeal and spark against steel stringed electric guitar melodies writhing beneath half-built stars. Prowling in the lower range, dramatic gestures rise in calculated rhythms and nuanced variations. Conspicuous extensions, beginning all contained and subdued, ascend - scaling the heights of the angelic realm. A turning of texture over time, free of profanity, fear or frenzy, we bask in a golden hour consonance. Cloudlessly calm, with chords, phrases, and single notes suspended like brushstrokes of color on a white canvas, The Shape of Time is a thoroughly enlivening listening experience. Flawlessly constructed, and written like a dream, this album rises from mere luminous rumination to continents of sound set in shivering tonal plains. Brimming with beautiful moments, the cumulative effect is powerful. In his precision-tooled drift the serene allure of Wøllo's work charms all those who attend. He is a world maker - an inventor of a richly appointed fantasy realm. May his music descend into your heart and elevate your soul - so that you may not remain idly numb to the wonders of this world.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 9 February 2023 |
