Through Empty Landscapes and New Beginnings - Mirek Coutigny (2023)
Ideated from: some recent releases I’ve been spinning
If you haven’t read Emily St John Mandel’s book Station Eleven or seen the excellent HBO miniseries made out of it, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s a hopeful look at humanity even in the face of extinction that doesn’t dwell on the bad but looks at how life can go on.
It was also apparently the inspiration for this really wonderful album. The music is somewhere between the downtempo trip hop of Emancipator and the spacey nu jazz of Go Go Penguin, but has a lot of character indepedent of that.
The tracks sprawl and roll, opening up vast landscapes just as the titles and cover suggest. It’s pleasant but also soaring and ambitious.
Tracks I Liked
No More - the most muscular track, with more of a house feel. Still stunningly elegant.
Snow Continued to Fall - a slow build to a beautiful and evocative ending
Home - one of the few tracks with vocals. So effective
