Anthene - Orchid [Sound In Silence 036]

Incoming from the Greece-based imprint Sound In Silence is "Orchid", the newest album effort by Athene, a solo moniker of Toronto's Brad Deschamps who has been active under this name since 2015 and released music on various imprints including his very own Polar Seas Recordings. For his second, limited to 150 hand-numbered copies album on Sound In Silence Mr. Deschamps unearthes a bunch of seven unreleased tracks from his studio vaults, opening with a sweet fusion of scientific bleeps from the airwaves, similar to what Kraftwerk caters in the intro sequence of "Radio-Activity", and overwhelmingly soft Ambient structures in "Fauna", continues on a similar, yet a little darker path in "Reflected Light" whereas "Flora" keeps things as Ambient as Ambient can be, moving slowly and elegantly like a glacier in the late evening sun, representing the beauty of the genre in the best possible way. Following a beatless "Frozen Path" melodies and pads become more fragile and crystalline, the title track "Orchid" caters 582 seconds of meandering strings and calm, blurred atmospheres for ultimate, autumnal relaxation whilst  "The Laughing Heart" is more of a lecture in heartfelt melancholia garnished with (neo)classical elements than a study in uplifting soundscapes. Finally "Trace" is waving goodbye in a more solemn and grave manner, rounding off an album nicely that's surely meant to please all die-hard Ambient lovers for a reason.