HiRez Poll Travis, Theo - AELOUS [Blu-Ray Audio (Dolby Atmos)]

[rtbluray]

Please post your thoughts and comments on this new album from Theo Travis entitled "Aelous".

Aeolus is a one hour Theo Travis piece for duduk composed by Theo with Steven Wilson (who produced the recordings and assembled soundscapes derived from Theo’s alto flute playing).

A stunning and utterly unique piece of work, the CD/Blu-Ray of Aeolus helps to define new possibilities for “immersive audio”, without losing focus on the pure sound and inherent musicality of Theo’s duduk improvisations.

The Blu-Ray features Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Sound and 24/96 high resolution stereo of Aeolus, and hi-res stereo of the hour long Ancient Soul, Modern Times (which has amassed over a million views on YouTube).

When Theo Travis began experimenting with long-form improvised instrumentals for duduk - a woodwind instrument from Armenia sometimes described as ‘the saddest sounding instrument in the world’ - he could hardly have imagined a world in which such a one-hour piece would clock up in excess of a million plays on YouTube. Yet that is precisely what happened, with the multi-functional music finding fans purely in its own terms as well as for an array of uses from meditation to yoga, to relaxation and more. Something about the sound, the performances, the context, found, built and maintained a much wider audience than most, far more mainstream music. All of this was achieved without hype, marketing or a dedicated record label supporting the release.

Extending the idea, earlier this year Theo worked with Steven Wilson to produce a new duduk improvisation in multi-channel audio as well as stereo.

 

[PurpleMoustache]

I am giving this one a 10 with a giant * next to it which I’ll get into with my review.

I love ambient. When done well, it in theory follows the adage of Brian Eno (who coined the term, but contrary to popular belief, did not invent it, there’s plenty of examples that predate Discrete Music) that it is is “as ignorable as it is interesting”.

That is, if you put it on, close your eyes and lay down it is equally engaging to give a deep listen, hear the interplay between elements, the changing of the dynamics, etc… as it is to put on while reading a book or doing the dishes or what have you.

This succeeds at that in spades. I gave it a spin while reading and multiple times it caught my attention with some interesting elements, both musically and mix wise. Steven Wilson really ought to do more ambient (Bass Communion has a few mixes but not enough), because he has a deft hand at this. This is a very sneaky demo disc. Sneaky because much like lots of good drone ambient, especially the long form kind, the good stuff happens ~25 or so minutes in. It is a slow build, almost stereo at first with very faint action in the rears, to (slowly) swirling full surround. Elements shimmering directly above, elements slowly moving in circles around the room, etc.

I loved it, both music and mix. But, and here’s the big asterisk: it is very ambient. Do not come here for melodies, beats, harmonies, lyrics etc. This is an hour long drone ambient and flute piece, it is what it says on the tin.