Solar Fields - Ourdom

[Trance2MoveU]

Artist: Solar Fields
Title: Ourdom
Label: Sidereal Records
Date: March, 2018

1. Burning View
2. Shifting Nature
3. Into The Sun
4. Forgiveness
5. Mountain King
6. Wave Cascade
7. Moving Lines
8. A Long Tailed Bird Whispered
9. Joshua's Shop
10. A Green Walk
11. Parallel Universe
12. The Daylight Carrier
13. Siren Song of Glass

Some artists are so deeply connected with a genre that they essential become the face (sound?) of that genre.  There are many artist who make downtempo music, but say the name Solar Fields and you understand what you're going to get.  Magnus Birgersson from Sweden has been doing this for quite some time and his albums are markers in the chronological history of downtempo music.  Any artist would be happy with a genre defining album to their credit yet each new offering from Magnus seems to be that way. 

His latest however doesn't leave me with the same awe that his previous albums had.  That said, I find myself being carried away with his descriptive soundpicture layered with many details ranging from the gentle flutter of electronics to the powerful and majestic.  The listing says there are 13 tracks, but I only hear one, deeply immersed in a flowing menagerie that consciously moves from uplifting to a introspective mindstate.  Into the Sun is a distinctly positive and hopeful march into the many wonders this world possesses as Forgiveness almost impossibly slowly illustrates the freeing power of letting go. 

As the tracks seamlessly meld into each other Mountain King is a lengthy almost 15 minute wonder that doesn't establish its identity until well past the 5 minute mark.  A progressive rambler that takes flight gently and creates a floating atmosphere bookended by a delicate ambient intro and outro.  Due to the length of it Wave Cascade feels like and ambient interlude before another more aggressive and less appealing Moving Lines kicks in.  Joshua's Shop gets back to the positivity of previous tracks,  while Parallel Universe could be the darkest track on the album.  The Daylight Carrier is more aligned with the early tracks of the album and he closes with the beatless ambient of Siren Song.

Mastered by Robert Elster the music sounds fantastic further adding to the experience.  As I've mentioned with previous Solar Fields albums I feel his strength is the downtempo arena and less when he employs the progressive stomping.  His music just seems to breathe and stretch more with a slower bpm.  This album could've easily been a disjointed collection of tracks in the hands of a less skilled electronic musician, but he manages to keep things connected by building bridges between tracks instead of walls.  So I would say it's a great journey with a few minor flaws.

Solar Fields Bandcamp

Sidereal (digipak)

[Aspartic]

Very good album here by Solar Fields. Random Friday is still my favorite though.
I listen to it just before sleeping and it works very well to set my mind at ease.

The booklet of the physical cd that arrived had unfortunately too much glue on it, which makes it impossible to open it without tearing it apart. Shit.