Composed in 2005,
The Nocturnes was until then reserved for those who visited Erik Wollo's Myspace page. There were more than 50,000 listening counted for the 4 available parts of this work when Erik Wollo finally decided to deepen and remixed it for the greatest pleasure of his fans. Inspired by the icy beauty of the Scandinavian nights,
The Nocturnes is the first one of a series of 3 mini albums that the Norwegian bard makes available to his public via the download platform of Projekt Records. But was it necessary?
Night-waves awaken the wintry weather which gets crystallizes at opening of "Nocturne 1". These waves which cross our ears with an infusion of absent voices are cradling the chords of a shy guitar while other luminous chords shake the fragile tranquillity of The Nocturnes first act. A Scandinavian melody infiltrates our ears. Drummed into chords of ice, this melody binds itself into an oniric down-tempo tinted by discreet riffs and by ringings of prism to swirl in dusts of ice and weave a pleasant earworm. This very beautiful melodious approach, as much lyrical than contemplative, marries the shape, in some variances near, of a meditative piano which makes sing its notes on a brook of gleaming ice on the very beautiful "Nocturne 2". So far, our senses are skilfully wrapped by the delicate nostalgic approach of Erik Wollo. Under the morphic waves of a synth of mist, the rhythm of "Nocturne 3" laps of a soft approach of trance spiritual to finally run with the chords of a guitar which parade in harmonious loops beneath a mist become denser of its floating layers of guitar. This delicate tempo reminds me of the nebulas structures of rhythms from Patrick O'Hearn. "Nocturne 4" is a wonderful ballad for solitary souls. A slow dance of the regs where the guitar of Wollo is dragging like a smoke of despair with long plaintive chords which cry in a bed of more harmonious chords, drawing so a figure of melody for cowboy of the cosmic dunes.
The synth subdivides its vampiric lines which oscillate such as razor blades cutting the horizon by jolts, multiplying tenfold the effect of solitude and melancholy which wraps this track where the unexpected crescendo at the very end is tearing the tears of the soul. This is very good and very sensitive. Another very good track forgotten in the vaults of Wollo is "Nocturne 5" and its piano which cries in the blackness of a solitude night drawn by knocks of strata from a synth as melancholic as the piano. This one is definitively too short. Waltzing in the blue strata of a synth which mixes marvellously its angelic choruses with its morphic mist "Nocturne 6" offers a discreet rhythm weaved by slightly galloping riffs. The melody from the synth choirs becomes more acuteness and is melt to some chords with an oriental flavor, while that "Nocturne 6" makes quietly another earworm which is added to the 5 other pearls of The Nocturnes.
A necessity? Absolutely! The Nocturnes isn't just another banal excuse to make some cash on the back of Erik Wollo's fans. It's indeed a very good mini album which exposes all the introspective poetry of the electronic nomad. That's sensitive, solitary and moving where the meditative ballads are measured with just what it needs to make them simply exquisite. Not too many synths, nor too many guitars. Not complicated nor easy. It's the perfect balance where everything flows with a fascinating harmonious symbiosis. And yes, it's worth being downloaded. -Sylvain Lupari