Mirek Coutigny - Through Empty Landscapes And New Beginnings [Icarus Records / Consouling Sounds]

Put out on the circuit as a collaborational effort between the two Belgium-based labels Icarus Records and Consouling Sounds on February 10th, 2k23 is "Through Empty Landscapes And New Beginnings", the second full length album release by also Belgian composer x artist Mirek Coutigny. Composed, conceived and captured over course of the pandemia-induced 2020 lockdown Mr. Coutigny, alongside his co-musicians and band members Jolien Deley, Jonathan Bonny and Klaas Tomme, recorded a widescreen panoramic sonic journey rolled out over the course of 11 pieces and a total of 40 minutes total playtime, referencing both (Neo)Classical x Contemporary Classical music as well as echoes of (Neo)Cosmic and, of course, Ambient whilst presumably also taking inspiration from dramatic, highly emotional and, at least in parts, slightly kitschy movie and film scores, with cuts like the thundering "No More" harking back to the space futurism vibe employed by early, yet commercially and critically acclaimed Synth pioneers whereas "We Want To Be Remembered" and "Snow Continued To Fall" wholeheartedly dive into romantic elegies whilst "Survival Is Insufficient" even opens on a sonically enchanted tip before fully immersing in overwhelmingly harmonic waves and, once again, quite a good portion of sugarcoatedness that might possibly, yet probably unintendedly, resonate with a more mainstream-leaning audience for a reason before "New World" provides an epic, yet fully unexpected turn towards monumental song structures just to name a few. Quality, yet at times a little too slick and streamlined for our personal taste to enter the realms of higher echelon.

Album artwork on Instagram!