Mikaël Delta & Hior Chronik :: The First Ray (Sun Sea Sky)

Mikaël Delta and Hior Chronik have created powerful ambiance with a remarkable ease.

Hior Chronik has had a busy year collaborating with Arovane on the well received In-Between, a beautifully realized ambient record which we approved of very much.

Chronik and Mikaël Delta have collaborated on The First Ray, another ambient record that’s far more classic in its tone than previously mentioned by Arovane. This is of the archetypal Brian Eno style, simple electronics, with your bass and synth melody holding everything together. It’s a simple and pretty picture, albeit one made from a limited palette.

What Delta & Chronik do extremely well is create gorgeous and dramatic environments for their sound to live in. There’s a richness in the textures of The First Ray‘s production. Despite this being an electronically focused album the noises sound dense and heavily layered, as if our composers have tracked these instruments multiple times—the end result is the feeling of sitting in the company of a multi-stringed orchestra. This is also a reflection of how the instruments sound on The First Ray, warm and molded, less clinical and electronic, which makes for a tasteful fit considering the classic style our duo have pinned down.

Perhaps The First Ray will be too singular in tone for some—it is a simple, straightforward ambient album with little to no surprises—but its strength lies in its simplicity. Mikaël Delta and Hior Chronik have created powerful ambiance with a remarkable ease.

The First Ray is available on Sun Sea Sky.