(2021) lluvia - Iridescence of Clouds


Review:
Ludvig Cimbrelius ended his self-titled Illuvia full-length in 2017 with an atmospheric drum’n’bass track that so captivated A Strangely Isolated Place’s showrunner, it prompted a request for an entire album’s worth of material in that style. The eight productions on Iridescence of Clouds are as epic as that earlier one; more importantly, perhaps, the collection presents a fresh take on the genres it’s rooted in: the material sounds less like a drum’n’ bass producer weaving ambient textures into tracks and more like an ambient artist expanding on the genre’s sound world by threading beats into the mix. And don’t mistake what Cimbrelius is doing here as a variation on liquid drum’n’bass either: Iridescence of Clouds checks all of the glorious ambient boxes listeners have come to associate with ASIP, but elaborates on it by working an aggressive beat dimension into the design. The typical Illuvia track is panoramic, majestic, and ethereal; packed with detail, the material engulfs like a blinding snowstorm. That one of the album’s tracks is titled “Sky Beyond Sky” hints at the music’s scope. While Iridescence of Clouds does position itself within a demarcated zone, it ranges widely within that territory. Some tracks accentuate drum’n’bass, others jungle; whereas “Wanderer” includes aspects of the familiar ‘Amen’ break, smatterings of aromatic dub-techno find their way into “Veil of Mist.” Having established a state of peaceful resplendence, “State of Emergence” thereafter swells into an awesome, pulsating colossus; in similar manner, “Titicaca” slowly adds to its ambient splendour with a full-throttle jungle pattern. “Iridescense” and “Nirmala II” are characteristic of the release. After first blossoming as oceanic ambient productions, furious beats emerge to thicken the swirling sound mass. In place of a static pulse undergirding ambient details, beat patterns swim in the mix, alternately bobbing to the surface and retreating into the background. Engulfing turns out to be the optimal word to describe the effect of the music when the tracks pummel you with layer upon layer of textures and rhythms. All credit to Cimbrelius for creating something new and original from elements of well-established genres.





Tracklist:
01 - Iridescence
02 - Sea of Crises
03 - State of Emergence
04 - Veil of Mist
05 - Titicaca
06 - Wanderer
07 - Nirmala II
08 - Sky Beyond Sky


Media Report:
Genre: ambient, electronic
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