Paradigm9 – The Halo Effect

I never heard of either Magnanimous Records or Paradigm9 before, before I received this CD. A little search on the label brought me to their homepage, which revealed to me that they had several releases all somewhere between ambient/drones and postrock. This release is the third release of Paradigm9 on the label, and it comes as a limited 3″ cd-r.

The record consists of 1 track, spreading itself over almost 20 minutes. The track starts out with cricket sounds, setting the ambience for the rest of the record. Slowly meandering guitars are introduced, to form a second layer on top of the cricket sounds. This forms the basis of the entire track. Later on you will hear fragments of distant trumpet and piano playing. The guitars might remind you of bands like Stars of the Lid, but this record lacks the tension of bands like that.
Overal the records gives you a feel as if you are on a holiday somewhere in a warm country, sitting at the beach near a small village, where someone is playing some jazz music wich just reaches your ear, while you are overlooking the sea at midnight.

The record is actually very enjoyable, although it doesn’t deliver anything new nor does it create any real tension. I found myself playing the track several times, just because it’s a very relaxing track. Perfect music to dream away on. A very pleasant introduction to both Magnanimous records and Paradigm9.

artist: Paradigm9
label: Magnanimous Records
details: 3