This review covers the downtempo track Sort of Expression – City of Calm.
It is unclear when this track was released. Metadata obtained by Freezenet pegs this track as being released in 2006, but there is no real way to confirm this. This track was, however, released online for free.
The track starts with a slow layered synth. This is backed by by a subtle higher frequency synth. A brief speech sample is heard before the track then picks up somewhat with a solid, but spread out bassline.
Throughout the track, there are various speech samples. Some of these speech samples seem to come from the movie Dune.
One theme this track seems to hit is a sort of darker side. This is a very interesting combination. Normally, you find relaxation music in the ambient umbrella genre. In this case, you get a nice darker mood which almost gives a sense of scheming in the shadows for a lack of a better way of describing it. While unusual, this ends up being very effective here. Because it’s seemingly uncommon, I find myself listening to this infrequently because of its unique musical style.
Generally speaking, the mood this track hits on works quite well. Not only does it hit the emotion well, but it also remains to be a rather unique sound as well. The voice samples help give this track a rather dreamy sound thanks to the delay and reverberation effects. They are well seated in the track. So, a very well done track worth listening to if you ask me.
Score
7.5/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
