Bolts of lightning in a dark blue-coloured landscape set the mood for this album by Ontayso. It’s their second album, after ‘Score of an Imaginary Iceland’ on U-cover 40. Members of Ontayso are Koen Lybaert, Esther Santoyo and Dave Vanderplas, who are also involved in Llips and Starfish Pool. For this album they were apparently inspired by the work of strip artist Moebius. A mixture of electronic and acoustic (guitar,sax, piano) sound sources, as well as field recordings and vocals make up the musical menu. Most elements are heavily treated though. With such a line-up you may expect more song-based material, but “Elochim” contains subtle soundscapes which are not very melodic.
The minimal soundscape opener ‘I think I fly’ takes you to a stormy night. My favourite track is probably ‘Frozen’, a delicate melancholic and introvert piece of work. The acoustic elements really play a nice role here, like the sparse saophone tones and the moving piano passage halfway. Fine cinematic music which brings a lot of atmosphere in your living room. The mixture of electronic layers and acoustic instruments, futher adorned by various sound elements, works very well. The music is soft and tranquil, but with experimental compositions and a lot of tension underneath. I did not know Ontayso yet, but based on this succeeded album I will certainly check out more of their work.
