Top Bar
Musique Machine Logo Home ButtonReviews ButtonArticles ButtonBand Specials ButtonAbout Us Button
SearchGo Down
Search for  
With search mode in section(s)
And sort the results by
show articles written by  
 Review archive:  # a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Stephan Mathieu + Caro Mikalef - Radioland (Panoramica) [Line - 2012]

" />

Stephan Mathieu + Caro Mikalef's "Radioland (Panoramica)" is yet another highly enjoyable long form ambient work on the Line label.  Stylistically, this is "classic" ambient music: the track is a slowly evolving synth tone cluster in a massive reverberant soundspace, with similar timbres to the work of Steve Roach, and the same billowing, upper atmospheric feeling many of his albums have, though Mathieu and Mikalef seem to prefer a more minimal chordal framework.

At first, a whistling in the distance comes closer and closer.  There's a sense of calm and sedation not unlike waking up on an airplane at night to find everyone asleep, and darkness through the windows.  "Panoramica" already seems a fitting title; I feel as if I'm struggling to glimpse the ground below through layers and layers of clouds.

Then, a melancholy, longing chord, a possible loneliness, which soon submerges beneath a delirious oceanic murk of dissonant pitches, then re-emerges again around the 12 minute mark.  It's a painfully intense feeling of wanting, which is thankfully resolved later.

In its second half, the piece solidifies and strengthens into greater droning consonance as bass tones are added, and rises gradually into a clearer and more hopeful headspace.  The music becomes even more minimal at this point, with the primary changes being the slow but rhythmic undulations of sweeping filters and the patient growth of the drone.  The empowering feeling the music imparts prevents any boredom.

In the final minutes, the artists begin some melodic development again, and the emotional effect of these progressions is intense.  The sound recedes into the distance, beautiful and contented as a sunset.

This may not be a work of singular originality in the ambient realm, but it certainly has a profound effect on my emotions.  Mathieu and Mikalef have masterful paced this track's development of mood, and after listening one feels as if some negativity has been overcome.  Recommended for fans of synth ambience and drone.

Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5Rating: 4 out of 5

Josh Landry
Latest Reviews

Stephan Mathieu + Caro Mikalef -...
Stephan Mathieu + Caro Mikalef's "Radioland (Panoramica)" is yet another highly enjoyable long form ambient work on the Line label.  Stylistically, this...
270324   Jerzy Skolimowski Collection ...
260324   Latex Choker - Sealed
260324   Occlusion - 59: No Input Wall
260324   Nihil Impvlse - Anabasis
260324   Marta Forsberg - Sjunger För...
260324   The New Boy - The New Boy( Th...
250324   The Stargazer’s Assistant - ...
250324   Liza Lim - Annunciation Trip...
220324   Patrick - Patrick( UHD/ Blu Ray)
220324   Dadawah - Peace And Love
Latest Articles

Sutcliffe No More - Normal Everyd...
Sutcliffe No More are a British two-piece bringing together Kevin Tomkins & Paul Taylor. Formed in 2021, it’s the spin-off project/ next sonic step...
290224   Sutcliffe No More - Normal Ev...
100124   Occlusion - The Operation Is...
181223   Best Of 2023 - Music, Sound &...
051223   Powerhouse Films - Of Magic, ...
181023   IO - Of Sound, Of Art, Of Exp...
210923   Lucky Cerruti - Of Not so Fri...
290823   The Residents - The Trouble W...
110723   Yotzeret Sheydim Interview - ...
250523   TenHornedBeast - Into The Dee...
050523   Bill Morroni - The Trials & ...
Go Up
(c) Musique Machine 2001 -2023. Twenty two years of true independence!! Mail Us at questions=at=musiquemachine=dot=comBottom