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Rudy Adrian — A Walk in the Shadow Garden
(Spotted Peccary SPM-2605, 2023, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2023-04-21

A Walk in the Shadow Garden Cover art

Over the course of his twenty-or-so previous releases, Adrian has developed a powerful sense of imagery in his music, such that the concepts behind his soundtracks are unmistakable, instrumental slabs of ambient beauty that lure the list ener into his world. The core of A Walk in the Shadow Garden is performed on synthesizers, but it’s the odd percussives, bells, flute and occasional guitar — as well as what may well be field recordings, or cleverly constructed synth patterns, to imitate the sounds of insects, birds pecking in wood, rustling leaves and breezes on high that underscore the delicate sounds that envelop the listener and create a mysterious tableau for the senses. With each listen, vistas are explored in further depth, a world of shimmering beauty that opens the mind to the composer’s vision. Each pass through the garden path reveals more; a slow ascension through the dreamy forest calls attention to subtle details that may have not been noticed the previous time, one step at a time through a world that brings warmth and pleasure to all the senses. Growing ever slowly into the listener’s awareness, a piece like “Of Mosses and Liverworts” utilizes flutes, synths, incidental percussives and more, in a free floating shimmer, free of any sort of cadence or sequences, balancing shadows and light against a colorful backdrop. “Clouds over Fields” introduces colorful random spacious chords one step at a time, slowly increasing the density as the piece proceeds forward until it all fades gently into the twilight. Almost like the slow arrival of dusk, “Perchance to Dream” offers wondrous colorful textures and shimmering sprites that bring forth cosmic imagery, just another one of many standouts among the album’s eleven tracks. A colorful garden, a deep forest, dark shadows, and magical aether will follow the listener as they proceed into Adrian’s wonderworld.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases

Related artist(s): Rudy Adrian

More info
http://rudy-adrian.bandcamp.com/album/a-walk-in-the-shadow-garden

 

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