Anything But Silence - Rudi Arapahoe - 'Echoes From One To Another'

(C) Piero Roi


Few records merit multiple plays in this household, though Rudi Arapahoe's 'Echoes From One To Another' has somehow not managed to stray further than the stereo since its arrival 3 weeks ago. Arapahoe's great mastery appears to be in sound design; raking in piano, guitar, synths, harp, field recordings, electronics and voices from which to weave a cinematic soundtrack lonely for accompanying images. Thanks to an inspired electronic and acoustic palette, 'Echoes From One To Another' is impossible to date-stamp or comfortably compare with anyone else operating at the moment. Yes, it's "ambient" music, though the closest connection I can make is to the wintry soundscapes of (80's) This Mortal Coil; a magical melancholy that evokes a time and a place far from the reality of modern life. Indeed, one look at Arapahoe's images on his MySpace page suggests he is a man living far from the pollution of human contact. If so, his beautiful music has certainly benefited from the solitude.

http://www.myspace.com/rudiarapahoe