It’s nothing if not intriguing: immense, enveloping bass clusters around precise, jittery electro beats, and synths doodle and drift over metronomic rhythms in a soft-focus analogue haze. It’s very pleasant to say the least. Of course, Rodelius, now 80 years of age, is a master, and his creativity is showing no diminishment after a career of almost 50 years and counting.
‘Red in a Circular Loop’ evokes the spirit of Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, while ‘Cloud Iridescence’ fulfils every promise of its title, a mellifluous ambient drift that carries the listener away into a soft and gentle place. ‘A Nostalgia for Lollypops’ is sweet, light and mellifluous as it floats in and out, and in many ways it’s representative of the soft overtones of ‘Ubi Bene’.
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That said, there’s nothing comical of comforting about the eleven-minute ‘The Is a Huge Duck Standing Behind You / The Haunted Space’: a dark, rumbling exploration of underground tunnels expressed in atmospheric bass and bursts of shuddering, shivering electronic interference, it’s unsettling and uncomfortable.
‘Ubi Bene’ paints from a broad palette, making for an album that’s equally relaxing and engaging, and very nice indeed.
Hans Joachim Rodelius Online
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