Harold Budd review for Limewire

Candylion

Harold Budd

In this companion piece to last year's Harold Budd / Clive Wright collaboration, A Song For Lost Blossoms, the duo returns for another epic collision o...f cutting-edge ambient and new age electronic music. Recorded at Clive Wright's Joshua Tree studio, Candylion captures the 73-year-old Budd doing what he does best — creating minimalist ambient modern compositional expressions — with Wright supplying the dulcet guitar counterpoint to Budd's angelic explorations. There's definitely a cinematic quality to the songs due to the proliferation of strings and white-noise synth washes, but the deep-rooted jazz influences of Budd also come creeping in on songs like "Beautiful Intruder." The title track is perhaps the most emblematic of the traditional ambient soundscapes that Budd is best known for, with deep techno pads and sweeping bass accents coloring its very existence. (It's no wonder techno pioneers such as Richie Hawtin often cite him as a major source of inspiration.) The album's most distinctive feature is the gorgeous analog electronics and melodies that envelop much of this album. It is the stamp of Harold Budd's best works and it gives this album much of the sterile, minimalist feel that drapes over its many moods. However, it's Clive Wright's nuanced and textured guitar work that gives Candylion a deep, luxurious feeling, evoking the best of what new age music has to offer, yet in the context of the avant garde. It's almost like Aphex Twin collaborating with Vangelis, but better. This album is definitely dedicated to every electronic music fan that thought Brian Eno's Here Come The Warm Jets was a little too tame and pop-oriented.

(By Sean-Michael Yoder, LimeWire Store)