A Closer Listen (BLOG)

After releasing the techno tinged Sekundenschlaf under the krill.minima moniker, German sound artist Marsen Jules returns to more ambient territory with <i>The Endless Change of Colour</i> and delves into jazzier, more avant garde grounds with his trio on <i>Présence Acousmatique</i>. Two albums of contrasting moods, varying immensely in style and sound; in both cases the results are marvellous.

<i>The Endless Change of Colour</i>, released on 12K, is a continuation of the sound we’ve grown accustomed to from Jules’ primary project. The album features gentle washes of reverb laden waves, changing ever so subtly in the background, never imposing itself too much on the listener; a close kin to Kyle Bobby Dunn‘s and Rafael Anton Irisarri.

Ambient music is often described in relation to landscapes. The less foreboding kind is seen as shades of greens and yellows, long strolls on a beautiful spring afternoon; all is radiant, all is bright. Darker scales and notes bring darker tones; they summon winter greys and change of season blues. Everything is wretched or thereabouts. Marsen Jules cuts to the chase and presents his latest work as a palette of morphing colours and tones, without clear boundaries. The 47-minute piece melts them altogether, and it works brilliantly. <i>The Endless Change of Colour</i> might be missing the more unorthodox sounds of Nostalgia and Golden, but these can be found in abundance on <i>Présence Acousmatique</i>.

<i>The Endless Change of Colour</i> sits happily in the background and acts as another layer of everyday life.