Living up to the source of inspiration, this music truly captures a serene atmospheric riverland, with a perfect amount of movement and mystery conveyed through the music, making the whole experience that much more esoteric. The samples of running water mixed with animals faintly mixed into the ambiance of track truly allow you to find yourself enveloped into the environment of choice.
More pointedly, the dreamlike Jarre inspired synth melodies wobble throughout the ambient landscapes making the haunting nature of the whole album so much more satisfying. You are not simply sitting in a location appreciating the atmosphere, you are walking through this Riverland and engaging with it's environment and inhabitants.
Review continues below!
Unforgivingly slow, this music is definitely of the ambient nature, more so than even Jarre and his electronica contemporaries. However, this music itself still manage to show enough variation and sonic addition through the long instrumentation to make it more than just a simple ambient album. This release, when put in the appropriate listening environment, is truly invoking of journey comparable to what you would expect from a Pink Floyd album.
Definitely not for the casual listen, as many of the tracks move along at a monotonous pace, and some of the elements are definitely mixed a far a bit louder than the others, making the experience best listened to on speakers, where you can turn it up loud and get the whole experience without worrying about hurting your ears.
Despite those minor trivialities, this music has come across to me as one of the more enjoyable ambient electronica releases I've had the privy of listening to in recent years. Respect to Agura Matra, and I look forward to seeing the sonic and musical evolution of this project.
Download the album at a "name your own price" format from Bandcamp:
Follow Agura Matra on this official Facebook: