Reverie By Alan Hanslik

 

Reverie

By

Alan Hanslik

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

Alan Hanslik is a musician who generates melodious electronic ambient music in a similar way with which Brain Eno did back in the day, Hanslik’s creative juices are in full flow here on this brand new offering entitled Reverie, and indeed the entire release is a wonder world of calm, introspective moods and more.

Reverie is an eight track release with some sumptuous offerings contained within, like the opening piece which is proudly the title track off the album; there is a somnambulant like state being explored here, and the listener can find dreamy and suspended tonal delights within it. It feels like we are drifting between thoughts, a beautifully layered and textured track indeed.

Our next place on our ambient trek through the woods is the tantalising Quietude. If one listens carefully there is an underpinned energy of a Gregorian chant here, whilst that isn’t actually used, the tone suggests it, and it reminds me in compositional structure of Kevin Kendle’s Distant Storm track. Here is a piece that is slower and more spacious in context, one could say meditative, but in reality the piece is much more than that, and manifests a beautiful flow that cleverly builds and progresses along its way.

On Inner guide we have a lighter offering with relevant tones that subsequently create a whole different energy. This entire piece is truly clever, its darker tones and narrative suggests perhaps a subtle rhythmic movement, which in turn juxtaposes an impending introspection turning into a slow build and eventual clarity.

At the middle of the release we find the track Passage Home, this meandering offering gifts the listener a view of hope and home, and to a certain extent a warm and slightly nostalgic mood can be located in the nub of this creation, the lighter vibrations and electronics manifest something quite melodic and very assessable on this emotionally grounded master piece of synth magic.

Hanslik has it just about perfect on his next piece called Night Visions, as you would expect darker tones are explored here, but ones that sway to and fro, casting an occasional light onto the composition like a lighthouse does for ships at sea. However in between the twists and turns of this track, the electronic piano and swirling synths gift the listener an almost mysterious like arrangement, where fragmented dreams or subconscious imagery lays deeply buried to only occasionally surface.

The deeper echelons of this musical world are reached by the time we reach the piece Bygone. For me this was one of my personal favourites, with its reflective nuances and tinged with a melancholia that was deeply palpable and moving. The keyboard and synth work on this piece are incredibly outstanding, and if I were to release a single from the album it would have been this very heart felt opus.

The penultimate offering from the release is the exciting Deep Thoughts; this is a fascinating last but one manifestation as it creates a mood heavier in tone without being loud, there is a symbiosis of vibration and timbre here will be deeply appealing to the electronic music fans around the globe, and I would predict that this is a piece that will easily capture their imagination with ease.

The beautiful short form narrative of Reaching Out ends our journey with a delicious creation, once again the synth work here by the artist is utterly sublime, and manifests a conclusion of quiet resolution (but not full closure), which I always find is a very difficult coda with which to create, but masterfully done by the artist.

Reverie by Alan Hanslik has to be said is one heck of a good album, it has all the great hallmarks of a really good crafted electronic based album, it contains ambience, instrumental intelligence, with some underpinned neoclassical influences. All in all I have a feeling that here is a release destined for the top of the charts with ease, for Alan Hanslik and his release Reverie.