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Forrest Fang — Radiance and the Receding Light
(Projekt PR, 2026, 2CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2026-04-24

Radiance and the Receding Light Cover art

Under most circumstances, I would be complaining loudly about an all-instrumental album that clocks in at over two-and-a-half hours, but in the case of Forrest Fang’s latest, Radiance and the Receding Light, it makes sense because the eleven tracks presented — four of which could be considered long form (as long as or longer than an LP side) — present a slow evolution from what might be considered world music into a more floating ambient style, with some additional reflections of world sounds in the closing track. All very cosmic, and certainly not samey, it all flows slowly and gently such that a listener might not even recognize that they are on a journey, until said journey has concluded. The disc-one opener “Apace” begins in somewhat familiar territory instrumentation-wise, we have heard sounds similar to these bells, blocks, and electronic scales going all the way back to Migration and The Wolf at the Ruins in the late 80s, and intermittently ever since. One can’t be certain that they are made here using the same technology, but such sounds are vaguely reminiscent of the Gamelan music of central Java and other sounds of southeast Asia. “Invisible Spring” and “Water Birth” employ similar haunting scales, with bamboo and glass bells, flutes, and a rich bed of droning synthesizers punctuated by some deep percussives. The centerpiece of the first disc is the 27-plus minute “Resonant Spirits,” noticeably morphing into more celestial ambient territory with some further hints of the world sounds that we just emerged from. This piece features numerous sections and changes that give it a truly immersive quality; a section that begins around seven minutes in features what sound like bamboo bells with a feel much like on those three opening tracks, though with far more density and chaotic beauty. A shift to a more floating ambient experience is soon underway. “A Meeting of Atoms,” and “Recede to One” that follows, continue with varying combinations of world and ambient sounds until “Arrival – The Waking Hour,” a piece that collects the entire journey so far and creates something of a reflection of it as it moves into more shimmering ambient territory in preparation for the second disc, where an extended twenty minute version of “The Waking Hour” is presented, along with two more sidelong tracks, “Sky Rings” and “Mandelbrot Moon” (the latter is the subtitle of the second disc), where we explore the far reaches of cosmic space, reminiscent of some of Fang’s more recent work like Forever Cascades and The Oort Cloud Meditations, then tying it all up with the ten-minute closer “Harmonic Perch,” which combines elements from throughout the entire journey. This definitely requires commitment to finish in a single sitting; the alternative would be to think of it as two releases and absorb it one disc at a time.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Forrest Fang

More info
http://projektrecords.bandcamp.com/album/radiance-and-the-receding-light

 

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