Paul K generally makes music of a certain shimmering beauty, and this is no exception. He received great acclaim for his conceptual piece ‘The Space Between’ and his ‘The Fermi Paradox’ stands as one of the finest pieces of ambient work released in the last few years.
This album is piano driven and moves further into the ambient & electronica worlds, continuing the exploration of both. Unlike the previous albums, there doesn’t seem to be a singular concept on ‘Hyperobjects’, rather, each track seems to be inspired by different stimuli. There is a calming beauty about the music with influences from the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Brian Eno, Max Richter and Hinako Omori. The combinations of acoustic instruments and electronic is carefully managed to cross over naturally between them so the music is never jarring or rough.
At its best, ambient music can work on multiple levels. With the volume low it creates a background palette of sound – al la Brian Eno’s ‘Music For Airports’ – that is calming and contemplative. Turn the volume up and the music is complex and guides the listener to different scenes within the track. On a low grade system there is enough music to be at the very least pleasant but move to a higher resolution of player and system and the layers and connections reveal themselves. This album is very definitely in that best category. I listened to it at varying levels on a PC with speakers and on a high resolution hi-fi and I found myself almost hypnotized at times, following one instrument’s path after another.
Paul K is a modern aural magician. This album may be his best yet and certainly worthy of some serious investigation.
