The Weight Of A Shadow is the second album made by Colin Edwin and Robert Jürjendal after they came up with their debut Another World, which was released in 2018. Of course most people know the Australian bassist Colin Edwin for his work with Porcupine Tree and O.R.k.. However Robert Jürjendal is for most people a totally unknown musician. He comes from Estonia and became known there as a guitarist and composer. He wrote music for choirs, string quartets, documentaries and theatre productions. He is also a former Fripps Guitar Craft participant. His way of composing is strongly influenced by minimal music, classical music and progressive rock. Jazz and church music also represent elements of his work, sometimes rounded off by electronic effects with appropriate processing. The two met as part of Tim Bowness's Slow Electric project. When you read the press release it says: “A unique blend of melodic textures, atmospheric soundscapes and hypnotic rhythms underpinned by deep bass stylings with more than a hint of dub spiced with subtle electronics. An engaging blend of minimalist, ambient, post-rock, and experimental elements creates a noteworthy and transportive sonic palette, enhanced by extensive use of natural reverbs captured at Robert Jurjendal's remote recording facility in the Estonian countryside.” Well I guess this says it all when you hear the almost one hour long album. An album which isn't easy to get through that's for sure. The instrumental music they created takes a lot of listening sessions to fully appreciate what the duo has put together. On their second album the duo would like to continue to explore and expand their very own sound world, which consists of the stylistic elements of ambient, minimalism, soundscapes, post-rock, modern prog and subtle electronic experiments . Sometimes it seems that the musicians want to let the power of the essential work through their restraint in the pieces. On the album the mood is varying between relaxed, dreamy and extremely unsettling. The tempos and arrangements in the respective pieces are also adapted to the different moods. Jürjendal's guitar sounds alternate between fragile, minimalist, experimental and aggressive. Edwin's playing convinces alternately with the sometimes melodic bass lines and sometimes more grooving bass lines. Regarding the title Weight Of A Shadow, Jürjendal said philosophically that the weight of a shadow is just as indefinable as the music. He deliberately left open spaces in the music in order to demonstrate the role of intuition and the ignorance of how music is created. The Weight Of A Shadow does not really have any sounds like or reminds me of names. But maybe you could say that this second album of Colin Edwin and Robert Jürjendal might appeal to fans of Stick Men, Anchor & Burden, David Torn, AKKU Quintet and Stephan Thelen. The Weight Of A Shadow is a wonderful album if you like ambient soundscapes, atmospheric, melodic lines and beautiful guitar parts that are always founded on strong rhythms and bass lines. But beware! You have to hear it several times to discover the inner beauty that does not reveal after hearing it for the first time! *** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
