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ANDREW WASYLYK – HEARING THE WATER BEFORE SEEING THE FALLS

The SAY Award longlisted album commences with Dreamt In The Current Of Leafless Winter, and while clocking in at a meaty 16 minutes, you won’t notice the length at all over the course of this masterfully absorbing number. The bright and loose jingling of bells are conspicuous in amongst the feathery woodwind purrs and broad atmospheric humming that seems to totally engulf the environment around you, and eventually in comes a mix of brass, bass chords, drum taps and much more to further flesh out an already rich and multi-layered piece, which is altogether incredibly hypnotic and meditative like nothing else.

Well then, talk about setting a heck of a high bar, but Andrew follows up and retains momentum with the title track led on by an awe-inspiring piano display which, in twine with the lovely strings, emphatically swoons you and creates a sensation of your body being whipped up in flight. The sweet Years Beneath A Yarrow Moon makes the most of a short timeframe with an elegantly graceful flow and a fine beat.

The cool bassline is the first immediately distinct positive of The Confluence, and from that Andrew forms a bright endearing sound elevated by the upbeat instrumental arrangements, and Dusk Above Delphinium Dew features a soft ambient warmth that perfectly fits the song’s namesake.

In contrast, The Life Of Time is sombrely haunting, while Thomas Cooper’s narration latches on to you, and completing the package is Traunt In Gossamer, perhaps the most stripped and hush of the lot, but still with a firm grasp on your intrigue throughout its duration.

Andrew Wasylyk made a staggering impression on myself back in 2020 with Fugitive Light And Themes Of Consolation, and 2 years on, he’s managed to strike the iron once again with another stupendous release that empowers the senses and whisks your conscious away into a better state that has you fulfilled by its end. Not difficult at all to see why Andrew is among Scotland’s most celebrated fusion artists, is it?

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