Music for Reflecting

This album of ambient style electronica has been titled appropriately, for it plays like a soundtrack to raise the dead. It’s opening track “Hey Friend” floats in with the sound of a Gothic choir. The way all of the tracks on the album are delivered is fantastic; it’s like an electronic chorus preformed for the listener. Though these tracks progress slowly they reveal an organic beauty like the time lapse of a blooming flower bud. It is this subtle growth that appears throughout the album that prompts one’s mind to float along the rolling waves of sound into a natural meditative state. With this soft beauty Odd Nosdam paints his auditory canvas.

Music For Raising creates a growing intensity within the listener over the course of these tracks by adding layers of echoing loops that seem to grow. “Hey Friend,” the first track in the album kicks off with the sound of voices echoing though a cathedral which creates an anxious anticipation for the progression of this track. These echos and some other characteristics appear as themes throughout the album. The sounds of Music For Raising bounce around within the speakers like the tracks had been played in a vast auditorium. “Foundation” specifically carries this effect well; it paints the scene of a record on a loop in a monolithic empty room. Loops in these tracks reverberate and they melt together causing the listener to feel as if they have fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole. These characteristics create an album sound that is reflective rather than distracting or chaotic.

Previous albums released by Odd Nosdam had a more dynamic progression and featured more traditional drum lines and chorus. Music For Raising takes a different pace and attitude with longer tracks and continuous loops that produce a slower progression throughout each track. Odd Nosdam’s sound from previous albums is still present but the longer tracks take on a more artistic air like they should be framed an placed on display in a museum. “Purple Blaze” begins with a deep and intriging sound that brings the notion of swiming under the surface of a dark body of water. This sound continues through the track yet the play time is short enough that the track does not become too tedious. “Foundation” is by far the longest song of the album recording an almost twenty minute track time, which for uninterrupted listening feels excessive. If the listener is patient, however, they will be rewarded with a freeing head-space that allows for inward thought. This slow growing sound created is a breeding ground for thought and creativity.

Music For Raising  is a compilation of atmospheres and moods that have been composed for an album. Odd Nosdam creates a reflecting pond of sound and tranquility within one’s mind that can be a respite to the business of daily life, as well as a welcome juxtaposition to the chaotic nature of other tracks within the electronic genre. Whether Odd Nosdam intended to or not, there is a rolling peacefulness that can be appreciated by anyone which is conveyed in the softness of his new album. For regular listeners of ambient music as well as creative individuals looking for inspiration, the tracks found in Music For Raising are worth a listen.