Rudy Adrian: inspired by the natural beauty of his New Zealand homeland
WOODLANDS
Rudy Adrian
Peccary Music
Woodlands is another inspired chapter in Rudy Adrian’s continuing exploration of atmospheric music. Once again influenced by the stunning natural spaces in his home country of New Zealand, Rudy has created a moving ambient impression of the wild forests and planted parks of Dunedin.
Woodlands offers thirteen deep and enchanting tracks that naturally continue the artistic thread from Rudy’s two previous releases, Atmospheres and Coastlines. Stirring atmospherics, natural ambiences and delicate synthscapes slowly evolve and drift through a forest of mystical moods and sacred spaces, creating a timeless work of textural electronic beauty.
The album is filled with the slowly evolving melodies, harmonically rich textures, subtle ambiences, otherworldly vocal effects, and sublime moments that listeners have come to expect from a Rudy Adrian album, and fans of Rudy’s previous works will also recognize the stunning baroque flute of Nick Prosser on the track “Deep Within Forbidden Mountains.”
‘Woodlands,’ title track from Rudy Adrian’s new album
‘Three Views of a Japanese Garden,’ Rudy Adrian, from Woodlands
The album is filled with the slowly evolving melodies, harmonically rich textures, subtle ambiences, otherworldly vocal effects, and sublime moments that listeners have come to expect from a Rudy Adrian album, and fans of Rudy’s previous works will also recognize the stunning baroque flute of Nick Prosser on the track “Deep Within Forbidden Mountains.”
Infused with the essence of wind, distant water, and the echoes of life, the mysterious music of Woodlands renders a deep and tranquil soundtrack; a serene reflection of long walks within wooded wonderlands where scattered light filters through the spreading boughs of forest trees.
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‘A deep, introspective, colorful, shimmering dreamscape’
The latest in a series of deep ambient explorations, Woodlands’ inspiration arises out of the natural beauty in [composer Rudy Adrian’s] home country of New Zealand, as did Coastlines, Atmospheres and even Distant Stars before that. The natural world is the common thread that ties his releases together, taking what’s around him and translating into a deep, introspective, colorful, shimmering dreamscape. There is very little cadence within these thirteen pieces, but there is plenty of melodic color as well as slow paced moving changes, secretly morphing as new colors and textures are introduced and others are dispensed with. The titles are beautifully descriptive and leave the imagination wide open as the sonic imagery plays out between your ears, like “Treetops,” “Fields in Evening Light,” “Dancing Shadows,” “Lantern Walk,” and “Hidden Pond.” This is a world of mostly dark muted colors but sharp visions that change and flow gracefully inward as the experiences are absorbed. The subtle bells and gongs in the introductory section of “Moonrise” are reminiscent of an awakening, a curtain seems to be opening to a dense and almost sacred beauty, where the listener become completely immersed.
‘Lantern Walk,’ Rudy Adrian, from Woodlands
For those interested in the nuts and bolts Adrian used a Yamaha SY77 synth and some in parts Kurzweil K200R plus Unicorn’s Performer software, and some subtle other-worldly vocal overdubs with Pro Tools on the final track “Three Views of a Japanese Garden,” details all of which doesn’t interest me that much — it’s the end result that matters, and how that affects the listener while navigating the magical path that Adrian has set up from one track to the next. And of course this is a Spotted Peccary release, so all of the masterful production and mastering is here in abundance. Listeners who appreciate other ambient releases from Spotted Peccary, as well as other artists like Forrest Fang, Jarguna, Steve Roach, Alio Die, Craig Padilla and the like will be right at home under the spell of Woodlands. –Peter Thelen, Exposé
