Profundity in surface
A delicate mermaid choir, electric guitars, synth and an ostinato drum groove echoing the rhythm in Ravel's Bolero: the eponymous opening track of Urzhia-Kan's second album, Atlantik, promises an engaging and adventurous musical experience.
In the first (L'ange maudit) of the two multipart tracks that follow, another beautiful choral melody introduces a solemn elegy in three movements, dominated by powerful piano and guitars, epic strings, percussions and drums, with occasional vibes adding a touch of wistful sweetness. The chorus returns in the last part of L'ange maudit, where keys and percussions weave an interesting and elaborate backdrop, interlaced with a synth and guitar pattern that recurs in variations throughout all installments of the composition.
The second multipart track, In Search of the Ultimate Arpeggio, sets off on a vibrant melodic line, following a kind of circular progression towards a final movement that brings together elements from the two previous ones and concludes on a lighter, almost self-mocking note - maybe suggesting that the "ultimate arpeggio", a metaphor for every artist's aspiration to the absolute perfection of form, is in fact unattainable (since a restless creative mind is never satisfied with what it has achieved, and will continue striving for more).
Once again, a choir (this time punctuated with somewhat ominous sounding bells or mallets) opens the ending track, Profondeur en surface, which goes on to unfold into a laid back, gorgeous melody that seems to revisit both the Ultimate Arpeggio theme and the imposing atmosphere of L'ange maudit, in a subtle play of mirroring symmetry.
Complemented by a clever album cover which brings to mind a crop circle field, Atlantik is one of those cases where form and content are inseparable from each other - a stylish, researched and accomplished work with a definite personal "signature".
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