There was a time when ambient music featuring washes of synth and piano, snatches of field recordings and exotic percussion was new, vibrant and carved out a small niche. Today, it seems to be everywhere, the music serving a variety of purposes from meditational aids to neutered aural wallpaper. There also seems to be rather too much of it, making it increasingly difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Night Blossom is the second collaboration between Yui Onodera of Japan and Jorge Mantas (aka The Beautiful Schizophonic) from Portugal. Despite the emotive titles (Dreaming Of The Proximity Of Mars, Akathisia, Nubian Clouds Over Saskia, etc) none of the six tracks engage or deliver any real satisfaction. Those with piano (Mars and Nubian Clouds) sound like one of those tedious New Age CDs knocked out by the yard. Even the whispered Japanese poem on This Crying Age, set against synths, perhaps a subdued choir and a field recording, sounds (musically) like a contrived re-working of Arvo Pärt rather than an interesting piece in its own right. This album should come with a tub of paste.
