Martin Taxt - Second Room [Sofa Music]

Scheduled for release on May 27th, 2k22 via the longtime established Norwegian staple that is Sofa Music is "Second Room", the new album conceived by composer x artist Martin Taxt and the second one in a series of conceptual albums inspired by the works of Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto and his perception of architectural spaces. Like its 2k20 predecessor "First Room" based on the sounds and explorations of microtonal tuba playing Taxt - alongside a handful of contributing musicians on hand bells, double bass, organ, alto sax and modular synthesizer - provides a warm, contemplative, yet relatively dramatic take on (Dark)Ambient-infused Deep Listening Music from the very beginning of the opener "Cave vs Nest" onwards which caters both klaxon'esque drone sequences as well as quick, distinct harmonic shifts within the same piece whereas the subsequent "Swelling Forms Of Domes" indulges deeply in longing, minimalist and somewhat maritime dronings and, once again, evokes memories of acts like Kallabris for those who've been into this field for a while before dissolving into wafts of icy, yet beautiful sonic crystals after a swirling climax of sorts. Furthermore "Paving Seen From Above" builds its structure off of modified hand bell pulses and carefully executed atmospheric layerings and sinewave sweeps which slowly transform into more dark'ish, contemplative widescreen panoramas whilst the concluding cut named "Disruption, Disjunction, Deconstruction" ends on a predominantly non-disruptive note in comparison to the rest of the albums tracks, yet might provide both the darkest, most brooding tectonic low end shiftings as well as the brightest, or at least most recognizable and majestic melodic features on "Second Room" which bring to mind classic landscape paintings by renowned artists like Caspar David Friedrich and others of his era, especially those incorporating mountain ranges, forests and deer to cross over into another realm of fine arts for a reason. Go check.

Album artwork on Instagram!