On Max Essa`s first “Chill Out” LP proper, guitars chime in Robin Guthrie-esque delay, and pianos play with the spare, pensive, Minimalism of the Cocteau Twins` main man`s sometime collaborator, Harold Budd. Drones twist into a Tommy Awards twilight. Percussion is slow, and shamanistic. Like that of Nuel`s Trance Mutation. Fairlights float in from the tropics of Art Of Noise`s desert island. Synclavier sighs and sentimental strings join accordions and acoustic picking. Linn Drum pops, and the hush of sunset. Themes take breakfast at Buddhist temples, travel orange trails, and Spanish roads. Reference 17th Century texts. Wonder at the visible world, and welcome dusk and shadow. The sound of bells scores the blink of harbour lights. The titular, Lanterns?
Bass-lines pump like resting hearts. Machines shake a laid-back Latin groove. Sleepy morning-after maracas rattling with the post-festival vibe of the sun rising on yesterday`s seaside o-matsuri.
Max Essa`s Lanterns is due in August on Music For Dreams.
Reference Links
Ban Ban Ton Ton 
3 thoughts on “Max Essa / Lanterns / Music For Dreams”