Robert Lowe seems to be the busiest man in music, as well as his own Lichens project he is popping in up in so many different bands: The Cairo Gang, Om and Twilight (the metal band, not the film) to name a few. On this second collaboration with Rose Lazar, Lowe again contributes the music and the duo worked together on the artwork. Musically, it is a far cry from the Robert Lowe I already know; soft synthesiser rhythms and melodies are the order of the day. It is entrancing, comforting and magnificent all in one go.
The music has a lot in common with German synthesiser music from the '70s. Ghosts of Cluster and Kraftwerk pass through the compositions, eerily beautiful. “Suno Vidis” could easily have come from the recording sessions of Cluster’s Zuckerzeit, the dancing melodies and childlike wonder are satisfying to listen to. Lowe again and again captures the very essence of pure, simple and gorgeous music although in a different way from his work as Lichens (which for me always has a very open and investigative feeling to it).
However, it is not all about simple melodies: there are some amazing textures and sounds being created throughout Eclipses. The ending of “Crayon Gym” features some wonderful sounds where the music is being manipulated slowly, ending up somewhere between a cracking voice and the throb of a mighty machine. Elsewhere, computerised beeps and opaque sounds wash over the listener such as on the sublime “Ŭyndham-a Horloĝo.” Here Lowe conjures up the kind of music that would accompany science documentaries in the '60s and '70s, the frenetic electronic blips representing everything from evolution to cloud formation.
As for the actual collaborative part of the album, the LP’s sleeve folds out into a large double sided poster to show off Lowe and Lazar’s handiwork. I am not an art critic but I like the imagery which is a mixture of abstract shapes, rainbows and weather (the use of prisms, light and weather going well with my mental images of “Ŭyndham-a Horloĝo” described above). The youthful style of drawing matches up quite well with the music on the record.
Although Eclipses is currently only available on vinyl, it does come with a download voucher for MP3s which is always appreciated for those who must sometimes leave their turntable behind. However, the experience of listening to Eclipses on my iPod was far less satisfying than putting the LP on the turntable and unfolding the artwork to gaze at while I listened. Plus this is music that sounds best coming out of speakers rather than headphones, the rich sounds filling the room in a way that is lost when listening to it in your ears alone. Finally, it sounds great at either speed which is harder to replicate on my iPod.
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