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Review: 'HEYNE, MARTYN'
'Shady & Light'   

-  Label: 'Self Released'
-  Genre: 'Ambient' -  Release Date: '27th May 2016'

Our Rating:
The bio of this artist may make him sound dauntingly experimental but his application of guitar, synthesizers and drum machine is not out to disorientate or aggressively challenge the listener. Instead the gentle, pastoral nature of the melodically ambient tracks on this mini-album are very easy on the ear.

Martyn Heyne was born in Hamburg and studied at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in The Netherlands. He has his own studio next to the former airport building of Templehof in Berlin and his CV includes a collaboration on soundtrack work with Dustin O'Halloran and a stint as a touring member of the Danish band Efterklang.

For his debut solo release he says he is seeking "some kind of emotional juxtaposition" and affirms "I am not interested in the certified, 'official' way".

The 'shady' part of the album title isn't therefore a reference to shadows but is intended as an endorsement of unorthodox (i.e. 'improper & incorrect") methods while the word 'light' is used here to denote the opposite of serious rather than illumination.

I think what he wants to illustrate is that he isn't on some dour mission to find precision and depth in his music but wants to work some fun and fallibility into the equation.

Personally I can't trace any obvious playfulness in the music but the six short instrumental tracks do have a warm and delicate quality. He uses delay effects to create hypnotic loops to the extent that the track Monument puts me in mind of Pat Metheny's performance of Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint.

It's all very restful and calming as you might expect from an artist who is searchable on the social media under the moniker 'every note is a pillow'.

In short, this is the sonic equivalent of a comfort blanket.    

Martyn Heyne's website
  author: Martin Raybould

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HEYNE, MARTYN - Shady & Light