Electronic/Review Carillon - Venus
Carillon is a solo project from Ken Quam, a musician and composer from Baltimore. These are instrumental meditative pieces created with synthesizers, vibraphones, percussion, and sampled sounds. The melodies and motifs repeat, build, and deepen, creating a peaceful and dreamlike atmosphere.
Carillon's "Venus" is an enchanting journey into the world of pensive and upbeat instrumental music. "Venus" and "Moon Knob," two expertly composed pieces on the release, each provide a distinctive listening experience that highlights the composer's avant-garde approach to music.
A tape audio book of breathing exercises served as the inspiration for the mesmerizing song "Venus." With the use of effects pedals, this music develops into a multi-layered tapestry of vibraphone and synths, producing an engrossing and thought-provoking atmosphere. The vibraphone and synthesizers skillfully weave their melodies over the contemplative character of the modified audio book, which creates a calm background. Due to this mix, the composition has an introspective, calming quality and seems like an inside voyage.
On the other hand, the intriguing piece "Moon Knob" is built around eight circling tones that overlap and repeat at different intervals. Because of its arrangement, the song has a captivating, cyclical feel that entices listeners to become lost in its complex rhythms. The way the tones interact evokes the organic rhythms and cycles of heavenly bodies while also giving the impression of movement and fluidity. Both tracks, which were recorded over the course of a four-day visit at Pineapple Room Studio in the Hudson Valley, depict ephemeral moments of wonder and inspiration, perfectly capturing the calm but energetic atmosphere in which they were born.
These two tracks on "Venus" show off Carillon's skill at fusing conventional instruments with experimental methods to produce music that is both very expressive and inventive. A deep, textured dimension is added to the music by the vibraphone and layered synthesizers, which makes "Venus" an engrossing listen for anybody looking for some peace and quiet. This release is a remarkable example of the ability of instrumental music to express difficult feelings and concepts, and it is a masterful piece of current instrumental music.