By: Daniela Patrizi
Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie | facebook | bandcamp |
Released on June 21, 2015 via Temporary Residence Limited
American-born musician Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie is a talented composer of ambient and modern classical works.
Although he may be best known for being the founder of the ambient classical projects Stars of the Lid, The Dead Texan, Aix Em Klemm, Sleepingdog and of the duo A Winged Victory For The Sullen with Dustin O’Halloran, Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie, as a live sound engineer, worked with other artists such as The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Iron & Wine, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Hauschka and Sparklehorse.
Travels in Constants Vol. 24 sees the artists playing alone and his music is an immersive experience. You cannot merely sit there and listen passively. I dare you to listen to ‘The Endless Battle of the Maudlin Ballade Part 1’ and remain detached. If you are not familiar with the project, Travels in Constants is a limited edition collection of 25 EPs issued by the American record label Temporary Residence Limited that involves a wide range of artists – Eluvium, Explosions in the Sky, Mono and Mogwai, just to mention some of them.
Travels in Constants Vol 24 by Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie
Recorded on July 30 2014 in Budapest with the Budapest Art Orchestra, the four tracks of Travels in Constants Vol. 24 are soft and meditative in spirit. The music slowly evolves over moderately paced chords. There are piano keys and guitars, but the absolute protagonist here is the the melody that plays out its story, blossoming through tonality and timbre.
The four tracks of the EP must be experienced and thought of as one long piece of music that changes its nuances while keeping the same mood. Lay down and let the music go. The tranquillity and the peace that dominate the music will transport you into an other world, deep and light, where every possible tension will abandon you. The sound will wrap you as softly as the breeze of a beautiful summer day. This is the experience of ‘The Endless Battle of the Maudlin Ballade’ divided into three parts.
In ‘Last Tango In Dendermonde’, the longest track of the EP, my mind runs across clouds as strings bloom around me, lifting me even higher with their sonic waves. There’s a sense of melancholia here that makes this track deeper than the others but in the meantime it has a powerful strength that lifts you up and every note is as restoring as the morning air. It’s a gorgeous track.
Travels in Constants Vol. 24 is full of evocative light and space encouraging the listener to indulge in mental journeys. Wear your headphones and enjoy the experience.
