Customer Reviews

Places I Miss That I Haven't Been to

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STYLE

Electronic chillout and intimate ambient exploration. This album is a musical journey that progresses unself-consciously through some very personal musical territory, full of pleasant wonderment and unfettered by genre distinctions. Smooth beatless passages of synthetic drones morph gradually into lazy downtempo where the beats are muted yet crisp, pleasantly individual affairs. Rich sonorous flutes overlay sharp digital textures; dreamy guitars contrast musing speech samples; violin, piano and various voices broadening the sound palette. There is something of a retro feel among all the modernity here - I'm reminded of some of the better instrumental concept albums of the seventies with perhaps less emphasis on melodic themes and a greater opening for ambient space.

MOOD

Places I Miss That I Haven't Been To has a warm sense of ingenuous tranquillity running throughout. A relaxing exploratory nature with the unusual distinction of appearing un-influenced by trends within the field and the need to draw a specific audience. Eitan Reiter doesn't come across as trying to sound like anyone else or wanting to fill a specific niche. This album quickly establishes itself as a blissfully idiosyncratic meander through the moods and sensations of the artist, shifting form and character as the whim arises.

ARTWORK

Steeped in warm earthy tones Places I Miss That I Haven't Been To is a jewel case presentation with three panel fold-out insert. The various sections feature some hand drawn artwork as unique and unusual as the music itself: a leaf shrouded figure perched on the bough of a bare tree, the tree itself re-appearing silhouetted or overlaid upon textured surfaces. There is a tracklist on the rear and within, a third extended version showing writing and performance credits. Website details and contact information are present for both label and artist. Eitan provides a paragraph of explanation revealing the deeply personal approach taken in the telling of this story. There is a generous pair of paragraphs given over to relevant thanks - one from the artist, one from Aleph Zero.

OVERALL

Although Places I Miss That I Haven't Been To is presented as Eitan Reiter's debut solo album, it is by no means his first release: he recently enjoyed being half of Unoccupied for the album Everyday Life as well as having released a range or dance music under his own name, and psytrance under the LOUD project. This twelve track disc is delivered via Aleph Zero and shows that the label is happy to foster creative music that sits beyond the usual spectrum.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM

If you appreciate music that reveals a personality rather than conforming to a stylistic standard then this might well be for you. Meandering ambient downtempo for lovers of musical narrative that enjoy being transported. Try out the E-Flier if you want to get the flavour and read more info before purchase or else have a listen to the samples at Aleph Zero.

I'm a great fan of the music put out by Aleph Zero Records. This album/CD is no exception. A wonderful sonorous laid-back electronic rhythmic journey to... places that I haven't been to. Music is exceptionally hard to describe with words, and even when done thoughtfully well, nothing can compare with the aural experience. So, all I can say is if you have a few bucks to spare and you know the style that Aleph Zero delivers, then I strongly suspect you'll enjoy this CD.