We last heard from Cyril Rampal in July. His self-titled micro-release was fresh from the oven. We remarked about the brevity of the three sketches, and of the album itself, praising its “Solar wind synth, boot-stomp percussion, a control panel heartbeat, thudding oscillations, and spare buckets for all the dripping reverb.” Following the full-length album’s release in January, Richard Allen — writing for A Closer Listen — penned a make-our-month review, concluding: “Black Polygons helps us to consider the weight and length of music, and to question the very nature of a song.”
Today, Rampal writes from Paris with a second EP, Landscape. I’ll confess that I prefer much longer movements, and the tracklist returns us to the three-song limit of the inaugural release. But the mood is significantly cloudier, and Rampal’s one-and-done composing ethic challenges a fundamental axiom of dark ambient. The title track features a remotely grainy surface, a simple, almost choral synthesizer, and a nuanced found-sound denouement. “Vignette” may be slightly throatier and more celestial, but both are delicious and over far too soon. “Monochrome” hints at percussion, and is lavish with both tones and hush. Stream right here.
