ARTIST:
> Mister Vapor
ALBUM:
> Astral
GENRE:
> Ambient
PUBLISHER:
> Witte Dood Records
YEAR:
> 2009
FORMAT:
> 3" CDR
TOTAL PLAYTIME:
> 16:39
[01]Astral
AUTHOR:
> M
Mister Vapor is a side project of Thomas Park, mainly known for his works as Mystified, that serves as a channel for his more melodic and ambient/soundscape-like works. Even though Mister Vapor was started just earlier this year, the project has already made ten releases; this should not be a surprise to those who already know Mr. Park's works, though. He's a really, really prolific fellow.
Astral is a really calm ambient piece. It's based on a repetitive and low pulsating bass-sound in the background that just provides the song some backbone, rhythm, and thickness in structure. The real attention goes to the higher sounds laid on top of the bass. There's at least two high-pitched and really ethereal sounds: one of them progresses in a naturally flowing way, whereas the other's note changes are more clearly noticeable. The 'flowing' sound creates an ethereal and peaceful feeling to the song, whereas the other sound provides the twists and "essence" of the track with it's fast pace and the changes it's constantly going through.
I must admit that after a few good listens I thought that this track is just way too safe and stale to be interesting, but a few more listens (this time with a headset, which I strongly recommend for this track) proved me wrong; the track is constantly on the move and experiencing changes despite it's peaceful, calm and ethereally soothing soundscape. These changes keep the track interesting for it's whole lenght. There's also a few well placed sounds that break the atmosphere for just a split second, really grabbing your attention to the track.
Despite the record's good values there are also weaknesses to be noted. The track's progression and sounds don't really present anything new, and it feels as the sounds weren't used to their full extent. One could easily expect such an experienced artist to present a more original and daring track. It feels as the composer chose a safe route on this one. For these reasons I have to give this release a bit lower grade than I otherwise would.