If mōshonsensu wanted to capture that certain IDM soundscape from yesteryear, he certainly hits the target with Solemn Grandeur.
Crunchy and decomposed beats bend and twist with an air of subtlety
Daryl Robinson (aka North East, UK-based mōshonsensu) doesn’t hold back from noting that his aim is for that “90’s to early 2000’s IDM sound,” an era we’ve also recognized as quintessential birthing grounds for all things abstract electronic and otherwise. Here we find Solemn Grandeur treading on similar veils, mixing fuzzy downtempo and emotive elements (ie. his remix of Dialed’s “4D3x” is a great start) where crunchy and decomposed beats bend and twist with an air of subtlety and delicate piano touches. The heartfelt melodies continue on as “Pattern 2.45” emerges from distant cloud structures in a glitch infused soundtrack that flickers and pulses with charged particles. As this EP moves on, more tangible and organic elements begin to take shape as evidenced on “Forsberg_Sofus” where tiny atmospheric granules blend with stretched, almost vocalized momentum. mōshonsensu really begins to open up as the closer pieces “Unbalanced Data” and “Kenia No Ro Fujin” continue to muster over 12 minutes of crumpled electronic downshifting—blips’n bleeps dissolve with distant voice samples and his knack for melodic harmonies melt in front of our eyes and ears. If mōshonsensu wanted to capture that certain IDM soundscape from yesteryear, he certainly hits the target with Solemn Grandeur.
Solemn Grandeur is available on Abstrakt Reflections. [Bandcamp]
