It’s been a while so it is time for another artist spotlight. Not only that but it’s time for something big.
We have a returning artist: Walmind and we already featured his earlier album here
. This time he is back with 11 track album, called: Night Ride. While the title is already ambitious, let me tell you the track titles are even more so. Let’s see what magic he has in store.
No Words Could Tell does not hesitate, starts with a a massive pad and plucky sequence with some really massive drums. It is nicely complimented with another plucky lead, merged with a finely positioned and reverbed main lead. Sounds like chillwave but it has a very definite pace. The bridge quiets things down as per the unwritten rules of the genre just to being all back again. The arrangement is simple and working well with a short but sweet outro.
The next track, The Sound of Your Heart starts like the usual synthwave ballad and it is actually one. The song features vocals but interestingly this is not the dominant part. The track could very easily be instrumental as it stands alone very well. The strong drone bass and the well selected pad with some tricky sync leads makes it a well rounded composition. what sets it apart from the typical ballad that it’s the same BPM as the first one, which is not exactly slow either.
The following one, Time is Over is also on the chillwave side. Nice reverbed distant toms, pads and gliding lead fills in the background while the strong kicks come to front. This one has plenty of echoes and reverbs all over. This time the pace is slower and since the rhythm is not monotonous it’s very relaxing.
Tell Me Why starts up with nice pads and filter mods. The strong kick and snare appears again to give way to the vocal. Just like the previous ballad the mood is not totally ballad-like since it uses a a minor key instead of the typical major. Very interesting idea which is hard to pull off without sounding off-key, but this one succeeds. The song uses the same well proven recipe as the earlier ones: simple is beautiful.
The outro features the reverbed lead again just for a short while.
With My Harley is exactly what we get right up front: a (possibly) Harley bike startup and drive-by. The plucky bass is accompanied by the reverbed lead synth again with a bit milder drums than usual, of course well padded. The plucky arpeggios in the background supply the variation and stick around even during the bridge. The Harley makes an appearance every now and then to emphasize the title but subtle and stays in the back - until the outro! After all this is a song about a Harley.
Night Ride is the album title track. It is different from the others: features plucky bass, pads and a male vocal! To make things more interesting the lead is a piano! A background bass also included for completeness. The mood fits the title and at this point it becomes obvious - other than from the lyrics - that it’s about a real night ride, on a bike.
Starting with V8 we precisely get what the title promises: a starting then nicely idling V8! Between the pads, modulated lead, background and plucky bass there is the mood of a V8 that is calm and simply strong enough not to bother. Just to be sure the engine is started halfway again and it does not hesitate to spring into life. Weirdly the track is not one of those energetic, rip-up-the-asphalt ones but really laid back, sending the message that you can be powerul without being loud.
Systema Universo is another mellow, relaxing track with the strong done, plucky sequences, chill drums and for the first time on this album: detuned synths! This one really leans into the chillwave territory a lot although the drone won’t let you to doze off. After the bridge we get reverbed distant rimshots which were actually already there but less noticeable.
For Magic Kiss the background bass comes to the front with some nice filtered sequences and arps. This is a ballad and this time it’s in major! Again a simple recipe, nothing complicated but very cleanly orchestrated. The vocal this time is the backbone and drives the song. Just before the bridge we get a small bell solo which continues after that. The outro fades everyting away quietly.
Reconstruction We get pads galore. A happy little sequence with a tamed kick and snare compared to the earlier tracks. The lead is a nice reverbed layer synth. The whole feeling of the song is very steady, perfect for recreation which is the title is about. The bridge shows off the wind instrument (as in real wind) which was lurking around for a while already.
The last song, Trip Without Destiny starts with a power play of pads, gliding synths, some sequences and a vocoded vocal! The whole song is waving around but in a different phase: the vocal goes up the instruments go down then they swap places. It’s not a panning trick just the general feeling. Some hithats, winds and sweeping bells filling up the rest of the space just to give a complete picture and complete it is!
The album itself is a very pleasant listening experience. It does have some higher energy songs but the overall theme is calm and chill. If that’s your cup of tea, definitely give it a listen, highly recommended!
It is available on Bandcamp and Spotify as well.