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Erik Wøllo — Where the River Widens
(Projekt PRO431, 2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-03-28

Where the River Widens Cover art

This wondrous 44-minute tour de force seems to simmer with breathtaking beauty, an album that was composed in the valley of Skåbu, Norway, in the summer of 2024 during Wøllo’s time there as an artist in residence. The eleven tracks herein reflect the purity and beauty of those high altitude surroundings, gentle and pictoral, of muted colors and ambient essence, the product of electric guitar and an array of looping and effect pedals, a slow, tranquil world within which a listener can easily get lost, and a perfectly fitting title that reflects the dreamlike flow of a fresh water stream as it progresses toward a river, a delta, and ultimately out to meet the sea. There isn’t a lot of force or angularity herein, just a gentle natural flow that Wøllo has captured and connected with perfectly, colorful sprites like the northern lights shimmering behind a ridge line of trees on the horizon. Each piece is unique among all the others, speaking directly to the listener’s soul in a world of natural ambient wonder, brandishing elegance, emotion, and intimacy as it proceeds forward. While this is first and foremost a creation of electric guitar, other synth based atmospherics seem to bolster some of the pieces, even soft angelic voices can be heard on “The Beach” for example, whether real or only imagined. The opening track “Silent Creek” is a gentle drift of understated melody  and soft currents, one certainly doesn’t have to stretch their imagination too far to feel the presence of a natural order here. The title track finds a repeating pattern over which ribbons of beautiful guitar melodies are built. Beginning with an almost orchestral entrance, “Estuarial” flows effortlessly through gentle eddies of swirling waters as its strength builds slowly, moving onward to “Quiet Reach,” where a simple looped repeating melodic pattern forms a base that more melodies can be built upon. Album closer “Beneath the Ember Sky” is structured similarly, yet the flow is even more stunning; a listener can imagine bright colored sprites falling out if the sky as the melody morphs and loops in a seemingly endless dance. Where the River Widens is a significant achievement in the Erik Wøllo canon.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Erik Wøllo

More info
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/where-the-river-widens

 

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