Antonymes is one Ian M. Hazeldine. The North Welsh based artist has in the last two years released more than a couple works of almost ambient music. I say almost since it has some characteristics of the ambient genre it also bases much of its work in the classical realm as well. The pieces have been everything from short singular releases to multiple discs made to be played simultaneously. All of these things help, in a small way, to explain what Mr. Hazeldine is really up to.
The music comes and goes in calm waves. As though the listener is letting cold english waters touch their feet then retreat repeatedly. This is mood music, in the sense that it would be capable of making one picture a calm stable atmosphere.
The music is slow and rarely picks up any kind of tempo. This is a double edged sword. As the lack of speed or drums help to make the music itself more atmospheric experience for the listener it also makes for something that can be hard to enjoy outside of it's own place. That is to say, in the same way scores for movies can be quite enjoyable and even something truly fantastic, they are generally not something you will find yourself putting on just because.
The recording is pristine almost too pristine. That is to say it is absolutely perfect in a sense it almost doesn't feel like it was done by a human. While in this given genre the human touch can be phased out and very rarely will it be missed, i almost miss a sense that something is imperfect in this recording as it would help to keep the listener on their toes. Instead the listener gets something absolutely gorgeous in almost every way.
There is nothing clearly wrong with this record whatsoever. The music moves along calmly creating ambience throughout the listening process. The same things that make this a great record are also, in some ways, it's downfall. There is some semblance of emotion in these songs but rarely is it clear to the listener. While some instrumental music can dredge any number of feelings from the listeners psyche this seems to avoid doing so. All in all Antonymes have recorded and released something that remains beautiful and almost disassociated from emotion. In the process this reveals little about the artist and even less to the listener.
