After leaving Death Cab for Cutie last year, multi-instrumentalist and producer Chris Walla has kept a relatively low profile. Having relocated to arctic Norway, he has now recorded a second solo album (his first, entitled Field Manual, was released in 2008).
Walla largely lets the music speak for itself on Tape Loops, the soaring instrumentation devoid of vocals. Literally splicing loops together has allowed Walla to interact with his music and recording in a way that has been long abandoned by most. Serene chimes and haunting atmosphere define the landscape of "Kanta's Theme," a curious piece of music with a sense of peace about it. It's sombre in tone, a feeling that carries throughout the record, as gentle synths and piano lines weave through "Introductions" and into the calm of "I Believe In the Night."
Tape Loops is open and expansive, and finds Chris Walla leaving interpretation up to the listener. Is it sad? Zen? Contemplative? In any case, it's both a veiled and a starkly honest communication.
(Trans Records)Walla largely lets the music speak for itself on Tape Loops, the soaring instrumentation devoid of vocals. Literally splicing loops together has allowed Walla to interact with his music and recording in a way that has been long abandoned by most. Serene chimes and haunting atmosphere define the landscape of "Kanta's Theme," a curious piece of music with a sense of peace about it. It's sombre in tone, a feeling that carries throughout the record, as gentle synths and piano lines weave through "Introductions" and into the calm of "I Believe In the Night."
Tape Loops is open and expansive, and finds Chris Walla leaving interpretation up to the listener. Is it sad? Zen? Contemplative? In any case, it's both a veiled and a starkly honest communication.