Flica - Nocturnal (Schole, 2008)

mp3 / 320 / 97mb / rs | rel. nov. 08

The Silent Ballet:
"Handsome and awe-inspiring as it may on occasion be, by God I hate winter. Days are short, feet sore, eyelids drooping, the head permanently full of indecisions. Whoever decided the shortest day of the year should fall in this ungodly season must have been heinously inexperienced. Momentary warmth buys but the most fleeting of antidotes; what is really needed is an aural IV drip of pure, unadulterated goodness such as that provided by Flica.

Nocturnal, in much the same vein as his debut, Windvane and Window, is a collection of sparsely-titled snippets of IDM melancholia courtesy of Euseng Seto which promises to warm cockles and melt hearts no matter how low the temperatures outside might be sinking. Fortunately, gone are the wispy and forgettable voices that pervaded his first record and acted as the sole obstacles to its excellence. In their place stand beats of even more delectable glitchiness than ever before and layers of immensely tasteful sampling and keyboard playing, as would perhaps be expected of one for whom both Akira Kosemura and Haruka Nakamura have previously provided remixes.

There is not a single aspect of this album which escapes without being shrouded in a halcyon haze or imbued with a wholeheartedly Keatsian melancholy. Even the kick sounds feel rounded and unobtrusive, in direct contrast to the slightly clinical and aggressive kicks that are often to be found on otherwise similar records. I have no doubt that some will view this similarity of feel and sound across all of the tracks as a hallmark of dreaded predictability, but considering the way in which Flica's work stands out from many others in the IDM crowd in terms of its ability to utilize complexity in an extraordinarily accessible and comprehensible manner, I feel it unfair and, indeed, mistaken to think of it as anything other than consistency.

On the point of complexity, Nocturnal is one of those records which requires particularly intent and repeated listening in order to fully appreciate that it is considerably more elaborate and intricate than first impressions might suggest. While trying to avoid the inevitable descent into pedantry and over-analysis, the way suspense is built before the beat eventually drops in "Light" is particularly worthy of attention, as is the incredibly subtle and gradual addition of harmonies to the root note which continues throughout the entirety of "Walk." Such evidence of the amount of time and attention to detail that has been poured into this release resound throughout its playlength and make it even more enjoyable when similar time and attention are put into listening to it.

So, whether to treat as an album to zone out to or to obsess over each tiny detail of, I wholeheartedly recommend you give Nocturnal a spin and test out its winter-defeating capabilities for yourself."