Why settle for one sequel when you can make a trilogy out of a concept? Hell, an entire franchise if one is so bold, though such projects are usually reserved for DJ mixes, not artist albums. Here we are though, now three albums deep into AstroPilot's Solar Walk endeavour, where the ambient side of Mr. Redko's muse gets to roam wild and free. And as I mentioned in the previous two Solar Walk reviews, if you prefer your trapstyle with wailing disco divas in a techno dungeon, then what the Hell are you doing looking at a psy-chill release?
Solar Walk 2 would be a difficult one to top, taking successful elements of the first and refining them into pure sonic excellence. It wouldn’t be a demerit in Dmitriy’s discography if he repeated that album – ample amounts of grand space ambient drone, with a couple outings in psy-chill’s more rhythmic styles for flavour. Heck, he might even taken the concept to a whole new level. Like, beyond the limit of our understanding in the realms of musical reality, where time and timbre have no meaning. Why, you might even call it crossing the sonic event horizon! Then again, if AstroPilot could achieve such a feat, I’m not sure how I’d be capable of listening to Solar Walk III in the first place. Should my feeble cochlea hope to comprehend of music of this calibre?
Obviously this album is nothing like that. A bit surprising though, is the fact Mr. Redko did change the format, going strictly ambient all the way through for his third constitutional across stellar photons. It’s also a different sort of ambient than to the previous Solar Walks, comparatively darker and subtle as though he’s finally succumb to what ‘proper’ space ambient should sound like. None of this massive, wall-of-synth opulence of the cosmos, but humbling respect of the impossibly vast emptiness that truly encompasses the universe.
Okay, we’re not dealing with Lustmord levels of bleakness here. AstroPilot still skilfully paints his sonic canvas with layered pads, harmonized synths, and even adds melodic moments that could serve as minor leitmotifs were this translated to the visual medium. Yet whereas Solar Walk and its sequel sold the notion of space as a place rapturous and inviting, Event Horizon firmly reminds us how limited humanity truly is in the grand scheme of things. There’s still wonders to behold, but damn if we’re gonna’ struggle to unravel them all. Titles like Millions Lights Years Away, Distant Worlds, Farscape, Whiff Of Eternity, and even Relict Emanation help sell this concept to a tee’.
As for what prompted Mr. Redko into such a drastic change in his Solar Walk project, he lists Event Horizon as something of a tribute to the ambient composers that inspired his own musical development. This includes classic names like Eno, Roach, and Boddy, to more recent ones like Biosphere, Alio Die, and ...Bad Sector? Oh man, add another producer I gotta’ dig onto The List.
ACE TRACKS:
Event Horizon
Distant Worlds
Relict Emanation
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