What makes Chambers work is that it doesn’t feel like an experiment for the sake of it. The processing serves the music, not the other way around. It’s the kind of release that sneaks up on you, not flashy, but it sticks. By the time it’s over, you realize there’s more going on than you initially thought. This is a strong showing from Ruben, and for a limited run of 30 cassettes, it punches well above its weight.
Developing ideas of sonic environments
Ruben Sonnoli, performing simply as Ruben, is an Italian musician and producer based in London. With a background in jazz piano and composition for film (he holds an MA in Music for Film and TV from the London College of Music), Ruben draws inspiration from neoclassical, jazz, and experimental electronic music. His work fuses harmony, melody, sound design, and real-world sound recordings, exploring their mutual interaction and the possibilities of interlacing disparate sonic forms. This focus on blending varied elements has also led him to work on projects that combine sound and other media, such as dance and visual art. Ruben‘s performances and collaborations: including work with Cerpintxt, a dark-jazz and electroacoustic improvisation project, incorporate processed samples, subtractive synthesis, and live instruments, shaping musical environments where moving harmonies and evocative melodies mesh with sonic textures in a delicate balance between cohesion and discord.
Chambers is an EP that develops the idea of sonic environments, approached as immaterial spaces arising from the interplay of harmonic density, minimal melodies, and asymmetrically distributed rhythmical elements. Released as a limited run of 30 cassettes, the 7-track EP sits firmly in the experimental ambient genre, blending processed instruments with field recordings into what the press materials describe as “volatile” aural landscapes.
Everything is placed with intent ::
The experimental ambient genre has always been about space and texture as much as melody. Artists like Ryuichi Sakamoto, Tim Hecker, and Fennesz have spent decades exploring how processed acoustics and field recordings can create immersive, emotionally charged environments without relying on traditional song structures. Ruben‘s work on Chambers follows in that lineage, but with a film composer’s ear for narrative arc and a jazz pianist’s sense of harmonic movement. The tracks don’t sit still, they evolve, shift, and breathe. While some tracks are quieter than others, they all have different characters. The dynamics range from sparse, nearly silent moments to denser, more layered passages, but nothing feels arbitrary. Everything is placed with intent.
“BB” is a standout track. With no drums and just a faint, subtle clicking or flicking in the background, it brings one of the most emotional and melodic moments on the EP. It’s done very well, different from all the other tracks, and I’d say it captures the personality of the release. The clicking could be processed piano hammers, could be field recordings, it’s hard to tell, and that ambiguity is part of the appeal. The melody sits front and center, unadorned, and it’s beautiful in its restraint. In a genre that can sometimes lean too heavily on atmosphere at the expense of actual musical content, “BB” proves that melody and texture can coexist without compromise.
What makes Chambers work is that it doesn’t feel like an experiment for the sake of it. The processing serves the music, not the other way around. It’s the kind of release that sneaks up on you, not flashy, but it sticks. By the time it’s over, you realize there’s more going on than you initially thought. This is a strong showing from Ruben, and for a limited run of 30 cassettes, it punches well above its weight.
Chambers is available on Bandcamp.
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