The composer Daniel Smutny has dropped his first name for his debut album. Despite his avant garde leanings, Telehors is accessible and devoid of any scholastic tendencies. It is a nice album made up of abstract sounds and haunting melodies. It can get dull at times but overall Telehors is a highly enjoyable experience.
Once I got past the awful sleeve (which looks like it was designed for a school project rather than for an album) and pretentious titles I found Telehors to be full of interesting sounds and textures. Smutny has a knack of hiding sounds in the mix that only become apparent when he wants them to. He combines strong synth patterns with all sorts of recordings, some processed and some left natural. Rather than relying on programmed beats all the time, he uses real percussion to liven up the sound. There’s a strong emphasis on environmental sounds like sticks hitting off each other, gentle knocking and little snippets of nature. His use of electronics complements these organic sounds well; the electronics are fluid, seamless and got bucketfuls of warmth.
One of the better parts of the album comes early with “Archpealago,” which is based around a short loop of sampled music. Smutny then uses samples of water, soft static and what sounds like bowed cymbals in addition to his synths to make an elegant and rich piece of music. Everything is used sparingly which allows the various sounds to have their moment in the sun. Later on “Replay” and “Rayse” also stand out. The former is very smooth sounding and again has a very spacious feeling to it, allowing the different elements to breath. One thing I hate with this sort of music is clutter and Smutny avoids it completely. “Rayse” isn’t cluttered but it is busier sounding than the rest of Telehors, the clanging string sounds and almost animal-like electronics are a world away from the relaxed vibes found on the other tracks.
There are times when the pieces are less than exciting. Towards the middle of the album, Smutny seems to lose steam. There’s a track or two that really could have been left off the album which would have made the CD flow much better. “Atlantiscape” peters out midway through the piece and despite Smutny’s best efforts it never gets back on track. The following piece, “Sayls,” also adds little to the album. With these two duds in the centre of the album, they ruin the run that Smutny builds up and it takes a little while before I can get comfortably back into the music.
Telehors is a fine album, it may not be a stunning masterpiece but I certainly wouldn’t kick it out of bed in the morning. There’s a lot of room here for Smutny to explore new realms of sound, it would be a shame if rested on his laurels and produced more of the same. He shows significant promise, especially towards the end of the album, and I’d be interested to see how a follow up to this album would weigh up.
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