This new collaborative release announces a nicely made musical syncretism between various aesthetics and stylistic approaches. Experimental attempts exist, but these are subtly intertwined with the most structured song parts of the music, to make the whole thing more immediate and captivating.
Ethereal pop and minimal electronic music at its finest
Open Universe is the new label headed by Jon Tye (founder of the quite renowned and unmistakable Lo Recordings), who is also a sound designer and composer under the moniker of Ocean Moon. This album is a collaborative effort between Tye‘s own creative entity and Bethany Ley (alias Silver Ley).
In 2024, Bethany Ley signed one album for Lo Recordings, titled Sundial. It appears to be a soothing and plural electronic-alt-experimental pop release with roots in early classical minimalism. The compositions lead the listener on a warm, journeying, dream-like voyage filled with colorful sound motifs and charmingly ethereal vocals. As stated by the artist herself, the musical signature operates a subtle dialogue between (neo)classical-inspired minimalism and electronic music bordering on enlightening meditative researches.
An alluring, serene, challenging, seducing and solar musical trip ::
This new collaborative release announces a nicely made musical syncretism between various aesthetics and stylistic approaches. Experimental attempts exist, but these are subtly intertwined with the most structured song parts of the music, to make the whole thing more immediate and captivating. The album has a meditative pop quality which clearly comes to the fore with the opening theme “Lotus Glade” and its devotional-hypersoothing atmosphere, dominated by crystalline harp lines, repetitive vocal patterns and meandering electronic textures. “Luminated” introduces the listener to magical, aerial, semi-acoustic and synthedelic enchanting worlds of shimmering colors and dancing lights. Some dream-pop accents, seconded by percussive minimal motifs and hypnotic-electronic scintillations, take the listener to astral places, as in the gently moving “Free My Shadow.”
All in all, Prismatic Fields is an alluring, serene, challenging, seducing and solar musical trip which encompasses a lot of inspirational subgenres to create something rather unique, and which might satisfy listeners from both sides: the purely electronic world, from modern-like downtempo and new-age synthesized spiritualism to lyrical classical minimalism. Recommended for fans of Alice Coltrane, Laraaji, Constance Demby, Steven Halpern, Mary Lattimore, Anita Tatlow, Popol Vuh (Hosianna Mantra), as well as those who are moved by projects inside the Hypnagogic Pop branch or by slushwave’s usual introspective moods, sense of hybrid and lysergic visions. This limited edition is offered in a beautiful standard vinyl format. Ethereal pop and minimal electronic music at its finest, and music that will soothe your soul.
Prismatic Fields is available on Open Universe. [Bandcamp]
