Manual – Confluence

Jonas Munk also has his finger on the pulse of shimmering microbeat electronics, but this new album follows the strand of ambient instrumentals he began with The North Shore in 2003 and Bajamar in 2006. Where Bajamar had a hazy late summer sea and sand feel Confluence is full of sounds that seem to call from cloud to cloud as each turns purple and golden just after sunset. Fans of Stars of the Lid might be easily convinced these were outtakes from one of that group’s recent albums. Gusts of guitar tone wash over meandering one-handed piano sketches. The tracks flow into each other, defined more by density than simple tone the way Rothko paintings appear to describe changes of elemental state by colour alone. The simplicity and seamlessness of the eight tracks gives the album a singular identity as a unified work of art. For those who’d like to freeze dusk in its tracks, here is someone who’s come quite close.

Darla