3 out of 5

Label: Dub Recordings

Produced by: Perälä

When Aleksi Perälä co-(re)discovered / co-created the Colundi Sequence with Grant Wilson-Claridge – a custom, 128-tone scale, based on “resonant tones” or some such, I would say his style of output changed pretty drastically. Not just in terms of sound, with Perälä’s Colundi works much more ambient, and subtle, than his Rephlex era stuff, but also the actual approach to releases, volleying forth multiple albums in a year, all with rather inhuman titles for the tracks – like a filing system, or coordinates, and not real song names. The unique nature of the sequence has added an inherent otherworldly aspect to the tunes, and much depth is achieved in subtlety – this is true “mood” music, created to slink between one’s thoughts and feelings; at the same time, that naming conceit feels like it extends to the compositions in an odd way – everything is conceived on its own, and not necessarily with a direct listening experience in mind. It’s either very human, in the way Perälä massages the music to a point where it can no longer be called one distinct thing, or it’s very inhuman, programmatically avoidant of texture. The songs are complete as-is. Albums, then, can be ranked on how well those complete moments function together.

The second Colundi compilation is even further down the road than the first in this regard, minusing or minimizing beats almost throughout its entire runtime, and letting tracks sit in relative silence or stillness for minutes on end. A close cousin in mood is Aphex’s first ambient collection, and I’d say Aleksi’s efforts are much more layered than James’, but they’re also… not as memorable. Again, this seems partially the m.o. of Colundi, but bundling so many songs together (16 tracks) really highlights – or, uh, doesn’t? – this factor: multiple listens only give me a couple touchpoints that stick out, such as a slightly more beat-based affair after a mood-setting opener, and a delightfully grooving track approximately midway through.

This isn’t necessarily a negative if you’re employing this music purposefully, but trying to stay dialed in throughout is difficult – a true YMMV release, where I’d say the artist’s intentions are clear and a goal is achieved, but how awake you are to note those achievements is questionable.