Beach Sloth (.COM)

Arovane explores soothing quiet whispers of sound with “Reihen”. Quite lovely these balanced compositions radiate such lovely hues. One is reminded of an ancient form of music, one that crackles and pops. They have a lot of fun making these sounds interact with each other in unexpectedly joyous ways. Full of melodic richness they hold nothing back allowing the entire atmosphere to slowly swallow the listener. In terms of similar artists, Arovane is in good company with the likes of Stephan Mathieu and similarly minded lowercase music artists. Elements even go further than that, at times feeling reminiscent of Morton Feldman’s compositions gently remixed in glitch format.

Piano chords float on into the ether on the magical opener “Summe”. Various waves of textures get woven together with the title track and highlight “Reihen” which at times feels akin to an approximation of a gentle rain. A haunting beauty emerge in “Ephemen” where everything has a certain stillness to it, with the melodies seemingly drifting in and out of focus. Rock elements take over with “Sunter” featuring a light psychedelic shimmer to it, as if Animal Collective went into abstract electronica. Incredibly spacious “Sicht” expands out into the infinite featuring some truly incredible drones. A sea like series of gestures define “Allure”. Bringing the whole thing to a fantastic conclusion is the wonderful “Eben” which ebbs and flows in a way that touches the soul.

Done with such dignity and grace, Arovane creates a powerful work all without needing to raise their voice.