Take Off For A Sound Journey With Mood Of Departure’s ‘Roadmap’
Mood Of Departure bring us on a mesmerising trip of mellow synths and abstract broken beats
‘Roadmap’ LP Cover
‘Roadmap’ is a record which invites the listener to come on a journey - a trip through a variety of sound landscapes recalling desert and mountains, unknown cities and forests. The LP titles’ wording (from the artist, to the LP name, to the tracks) are very evocative of its travelling leitmotiv, and so are its different and moving music influences.
Opening up with a deeply atmospheric synth line side-chained into a big beat after half of the track, the LP touches many different influences, from trip-hop to ambient, from IDM to shoegaze, all guided by a great synthesiser and sound-design work. Tracks like ’Nightmare Girls’ or ‘Life Transpose’ dive into slightly distorted broken beats which are interestingly combined with the soothing harmonies of the composition - ‘Nightmare Girls’ is probably our favourite track on the album, with its stunningly ingenious structure which overturns its rhythm and tempo mid-track in favour of jazz drumming and delayed vocals, turned off in the last bit of the track in favour of a time expanding beatless stretch.
“‘Roadmap’ is a record conveying a very specific style but not limited to any genre or influence, which is exactly what we look for in nowadays electronic music.“
Overall it’s very intriguing how the beats (often very incisive) come in and out intermittently and change throughout single tracks on the record, an element of style which apart from making it never boring and hinting at the conceptual side of its nature. Many tracks stand out in the album for peculiar choices: for example, ‘Stoned Bones’ features a mellow groovy bass leading the way on a slow tempo filled with mesmerising pads and arpeggios, an almost-funky touch which we were not expecting halfway through the record, and that is delightfully enjoyable. The last three tracks of the album are completely beatless, atmospheric recordings, easing the listeners into the end of its journey.
The LP is generally easy-listening, showing even some dream pop-oriented tones at times in vocal tracks like ‘Templefield Midnightskate’ or ‘Blueprinter’. An interesting listen for the abstract electronic music aficionados, but also good music to work/relax to for the occasional listener. ‘Roadmap’ is a record conveying a very specific style but not limited to any genre or influence, which is exactly what we look for in nowadays electronic music. Set back, relax, and enjoy the journey.
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The printed version comes in 180g clear marbled vinyl with stamped sleeve and an inside out printed cover.
Check out more releases by Ornaments Records here.
