Friday 24 August 2012

SONE INSTITUTE – A MODEL LIFE (FRONT AND FOLLOW)


SONE INSTITUTE – A MODEL LIFE (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

The second full length album from Sone Institute is a grand proposition building on the momentum of his first record Curious Memories and bringing a whole new bag of tricks to proceedings.  A Model Life is a far reaching and all encompassing collection of crashing harmonious sounds engaging in the manner of the finest music library.

Sone Institute is the product from the mind of Roman Bezdyk, a modern composer and arranger exhibiting a vibrant fountain of music knowledge.  These lush, sweet sounds are the kind of easy listening gestures that point to a calm but exotic life well lived.

Making its mark early the record opens with what appears to be an old school acid rock freak out that seems to be occurring in a bingo hall on the fantastically titled “Witchcraft And Pornography”.  It is a gesture that gets repeated at the end on “Fear And Happiness” also.  However between there and here a large amount of sonic soil is covered.

All in all with its vocal samples and verbose offerings of logic, Sone Institute provides a sound similar to current darlings Public Broadcasting Service in addition to a clear concordance to Broadcast.  And on the whole there is a general feel of it being some kind of lost treasure that Jonny Trunk might find covered in dust in an archive.  Like the suspense and swing of “Frozen Leaves – Falling From Leaves” cause me to think of a Lalo Schifrin workout.

It is the track “Struck By A Rock” that takes the prize.  This is a truly astounding and levelling piece of music.  Upon receipt of its movements my heart breaks and traffic stops moving.

The ambiance continues with the title track which spans a delicate moment that reminds me of a waking Cinematic Orchestra moment containing lush tones and gestures along with a timeless edge.  It bleeds brilliant early morning colours by emphasising stillness.

From here once again the tone of the record changes as the appropriately named “Amoral Life” drops in with a porno flick sounding wah, echo and bass serving to highlight the brilliant playfulness of the work at hand.

After various moments of strings, beats and chill the album book ends with another acid freakout in the form of “Fear And Happiness” as truly this life has been a ride.

Here are fourteen tracks to marvel.

Thesaurus moment: expanse.