| Artist: Tor Lundvall Album: Empty City Released: 29 July 2006 | 
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The more memorable music of the ambient genre invariably succeeds in taking the
listener to places inward and outward (sometimes both). Empty City by Tor Lundvall is a study of the outside world. Taking inspiration from his paintings of city
landscapes, Lundvall's aural canvas presents the city at night. Each of the twelve
tracks serves as a waypoint along the journey through an obscured metropolis. Soft
rhythms and sparse textures convey a phantasm of activity: a long wait at a train
station, a metal shop working into the night, rainfall across the skyline, exploring
the city late at night, finally falling asleep, and rising to a new day. Pads and
washes form the backdrop. The foreground is populated by synth tones portraying
elements of the night. Accurately described as ghost ambient, the sound is haunting
yet warm and familiar. Indeed the paradox of Empty City's simple elegance is that
dissonant sounds come together in a settling way; that dark ambience can be
comforting.
- Chuck Nixon 19 August 2006 | |
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