Release date: 18th January 2019
Aukai, the ambient/acoustic project of Markus Sieber, is back with another new release, an EP entitled Reminiscence. At ten tracks in duration, it does feel a little bit too lengthy to be an EP but nevertheless the ‘categorisation’ takes nothing away from the music because it’s once again another stunning piece.
The best way to describe Aukai’s music is to simply call it beautiful. Of course, there’s more to the music than it just being beautiful, but that just feels like the perfect description. Aukai paints this stunning and colourful image with very simplistic instrumentation and no vocals, which is a massive feat in itself, and the way it somehow manages to feel so immersive is fantastic.
Like with Aukai’s previous releases, it feels like there’s a nice little thread running through the piece, linking tracks together with reoccuring melodies and song structures, resulting in a very coherent bit of work that flows very well from one song to the next. Tracks like La Joya and Reframe move seamlessly into one another, and later track In The Trees has this wonderful air of mystery to it, almost, and the way the piano moves with the ronroco is exquisite.
Admittedly, Reminiscence could do with a little more intricacies at times. With the self-titled album and Branches Of Sun, there was a bit more to the music with more embellishments to take in and you could notice something new on every listen, but Reminiscence is a more straightforward bit of work. There’s nothing wrong with that, as it would be dull to simply rehash the same thing over and over, but there are occasions where it feels that something is missing.
As a whole, however, this is another stellar bit of work from Aukai. The musicianship and atmosphere is as top-notch as ever, and the beauty and immersiveness to the music couldn’t be better. Once again, Aukai has released another unmissable collection of songs.
8/10
