IN-IS
– Seven Days
CD
/ DL
Out
Now
8.5
/ 10
Classical ambient IN-IS releases debut album.
You might think that you’ve never heard of Sheridan Tongue,
the man behind the aural sculptures of IN-IS, but you be very wrong as the
Belfast born composer is the sound behind several soundtracks including Silent
Witness, Spooks (for which he received a BAFTA nomination) and more recently
the Brian Cox TV series Wonders Of The Solar System.
Highly polished and beautifully constructed, Seven Days is a gorgeous
album. With just enough ambience to keep
the Eno fans of this world happy, interlaced with some quite stunning
orchestral arrangements it is a centrepiece of creator Sheridan Tongue’s
talent. Influences from the likes of
Kraftwerk and Mike Oldfield (Tubular Bells) are easy to see but perhaps the
most striking comparison is one with Rob Dougan whose criminally underrated
Furious Angels album intertwined large segments of Debussy styled orchestration.
The eight tracks are simply yet incredibly highly polished
and completely loaded with emotion and atmospheric quality. Our Story is haunting yet beautiful at the
same time as the delicate strings sweep around like a woodland mist holding
together a love-struck couple, and Scarlette In Love serves to confirm comparisons
to Dougan as it bears resemblances to the orchestral interludes in Clubbed To
Death. Tongue however remains firmly on
the subtler, classical side and it is a style which could quite possibly cross
over to ambient fans.
The album claims to take journeys through the unexplored and
the compared lakes, seas and water locations are easy to imagine oneself
floating on as are areas of discreet loveliness. Indian Dilruba and Japanese hang drums also
feature but they are treated and manoeuvred sounding like mystical tones
throughout.
Seven Days is a short album clocking in at less than twenty
nine minutes but, within those tracks is a universe of intricacies and quite
beautiful soundscapes, Reverie For A Small Ensemble for instance has enough
space and emptiness for the listener to disappear to whenever they like within
their mind, and Fjords yet again takes us on a trip of enormous uncertainty yet
gives enough familiarity for us not to get lost.
A delightful and charming album which deserves any accolade
that will come its way.
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