With a decade's worth of releases under his belt on Planet Mu and Ghostly International (amongst others), Lithuanian producer Few Nolder (real name Linas Strockis) has had time to develop his approach, and this new, meticulously crafted, minimalist house EP Ace of Space — his second for fellow countryman Mindaugas Lapinskis's Sodai label — reflects this.
It's an EP full of well-judged details and delayed expectations. Some satisfyingly deep synth-stabs arrive unexpectedly just before the three-minute mark on opener "Balance" for instance, like a fleet of imposing starships de-cloaking suddenly in front of you (and to conceptualize the cosmic EP as the soundtrack to a premium space-shooter à la Söldner-Ex isn't so off the mark). Shortly after, the majestic swirl of the title-track's melody (which starts as a collection of overlapping pads and ends as a crisp arpeggio) closes the EP like the credits to some kind of high-fantasy space opera. It's a strong note on which to finish.
As inspired by intergalactic imagery as it is, the EP certainly has a cold and impersonal feel to it — these tracks move forward with the inevitability of an AI automaton performing a pre-programmed task for the 10,000th time — but the sure-handed precision with which they do so is not unappealing, by any means. There can be worth and beauty in sterility, and Ace of Space proves this often.
(Sodai)It's an EP full of well-judged details and delayed expectations. Some satisfyingly deep synth-stabs arrive unexpectedly just before the three-minute mark on opener "Balance" for instance, like a fleet of imposing starships de-cloaking suddenly in front of you (and to conceptualize the cosmic EP as the soundtrack to a premium space-shooter à la Söldner-Ex isn't so off the mark). Shortly after, the majestic swirl of the title-track's melody (which starts as a collection of overlapping pads and ends as a crisp arpeggio) closes the EP like the credits to some kind of high-fantasy space opera. It's a strong note on which to finish.
As inspired by intergalactic imagery as it is, the EP certainly has a cold and impersonal feel to it — these tracks move forward with the inevitability of an AI automaton performing a pre-programmed task for the 10,000th time — but the sure-handed precision with which they do so is not unappealing, by any means. There can be worth and beauty in sterility, and Ace of Space proves this often.