(2020) Francis M. Gri - The Ropes


Review:
As the founder and operator of KrysaliSound, Francis M. Gri is well-acquainted with material of an ambient-electronic and electroacoustic nature. He’s also, however, more than a curator, as shown by this stellar contribution to Slowcraft’s digital series Lifelines. At forty-three minutes, the set is more full-length than EP, which enables his material to make an even stronger impression than it might in a smaller dose. Slowcraft’s Lifelines series was conceived by label founder James Murray as an outlet for “vital and consoling works,” the latter quality of heightened value in these pandemic times. In keeping with that, Gri’s settings are often melancholy and plaintive in tone, with the producer granting full voice to his tender side. Further to that, track titles such as “Bind or Break” and “Twined Together” allude to the critical support connections with others create during challenging times. Treated electric guitar shadings interlace with minimal piano gestures and gauzy synth washes in the opening “Consequences of Words,” the music unfurling contemplatively and its carefully calibrated mood sombre, even sorrowful. In “A Rope Can Hold,” field recordings of the natural outdoors merge with electric piano sprinklings and acoustic guitar to foster an air of restorative, seaside calm; that setting’s pastoral leanings blossom more explicitly during “Bind or Break” when bird sounds set the stage for unaccompanied acoustic guitar musings. Prettier still is “Twined Together,” which assumes a soothing, lullaby-like character when delicate tinklings appear alongside electric piano phrases and other atmospheric treatments. Classical fingerpicking nudges “Like Seeds of Compassion” away from the more pure ambient-styled pieces but not so much it feels like a complete outlier. The release culminates with “Stillness is Your Garden,” at eleven minutes the longest production. In perpetuating the release’s general style and mood, the setting does exude stillness, but it’s also not lacking for activity when Gri assembles a number of elements into an ever-intensifying slowburn. Each of these meditations was crafted by him with meticulous care, and consoling they assuredly are.





Tracklist:
01 - Consequences of Words
02 - A Rope Can Hold
03 - Bind or Break
04 - Twined Together
05 - Like Seeds of Compassion
06 - Stillness Is Your Garden


Media Report:
Genre: ambient
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits