Nowadays, there's no shortage of chill-out albums which blend downtempo electronica with dreamy classical undertones. Misplaced is another to add to the list but stands out as one of the better examples of the genre.
It helps that this Stockholm-based producer Bård Ericson is a distinguished musician who has played regularly with the Royal Swedish Opera and been a member of Andrea Bocelli’s orchestra. With this debut full-length album he is now branching out in his own right under the Boerd pseudonym.
Organic instrumentation is preferred to digital trickery to create soft and melancholic tones that never feel cold or machine-made. Elegant piano refrains add to the otherworldly yet human quality.
Despite missteps like the tacky synths on Look, Ericson mostly combines stillness with serenity. At the same time, there is enough momentum to establish a subtle sense of flow and movement.
|
The obvious standout track is Before We Drown the only conventional 'song' in the collection with lead vocals sung in English by Stella Explorer. Aside from this, sampled wordless voices are used on many other tunes with a focus more on mood than meaning.
Ericson says "I tried to craft sounds that balance beauty and sadness" and from this perspective I would say this is a case of mission accomplished.
|
