"To Contain Multitudes" by Jesse Whitney is an IDM music album containing 10 pieces where broken melody lines and ever-changing rhythmic patterns rule the world created by the composer.
The melodies in this album transcend the conventional definition. They journey through layers of music, from the bass to harmonic layers to the surface. This style of composition creates a feeling of detachment while, in fact, the melody is continuous across different layers. The final result is a paradoxical sense of the melody's existence.
Perhaps the first famous example of this style of melody writing can be traced back to Hector Berlioz and his masterpiece "Symphonie Fantastique" from 1830.
In the rhythm section, while this album generally creates a feeling of a beat that the melody closely follows, it occasionally breaks the rhythm, adding a layer of mystery to the music.
You can listen to this album and enjoy the music, but it does not offer music to dance to as the “D” in IDM suggests.
The album begins with "Dreaming Better Dream," a fairly upbeat piece with interesting rhythmic development. Next comes "Twelve Gates," with an EDM-like intro that develops into an Aphex Twin-style piece. "That Heavy Black Smoke" is a hardcore electronic piece with a complex rhythm, followed by a more ambient techno piece named "The Wheel." The complex melody line entangled with the harmonic section in this piece is nothing short of a masterpiece. "Bathed In Starlight" is the fifth track, an atmospheric and melodic piece.
"To Contain Multitudes" stands at the heart of the album with amazing sound design, creating an otherworldly soundscape that is both familiar and strange. The different reverb used on the melody and rhythm in this piece creates a bizarre feeling of being in two places at once. "Moon’s Draw" is a somber and dark piece, followed by the uncanny melodic development of "Stone Channels" in the next track. "Anthropocene Banger" takes rhythmic complexity to another level with its 2-2-4 pattern. The album ends with its final piece, "The Lament For What Could Have Been," which takes the listener to a state of trance.
Jesse Whitney has created a soundscape worthy of praise. His album is a journey through the mind of an artist living in both the past and present.
To Contain Multitudes releases on the 2nd of August 2024 via Æther Sound in 12" LP & digital formats.
#MusicReview #IDM #JesseWhitney #ElectronicMusic #AlbumReview #InnovativeMelodies #ComplexRhythms #SymphonieFantastique #SoundDesign #MusicJourney #AtmosphericMusic #ElectronicSoundscape #InstrumentalMusic
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