Bühlmann, Roland: Aineo

The steady diet of guitar dominated albums continues with Aineo, the debut from Switzerland musician Roland Bühlmann. Apparently he has been around the music scene for years, producing and playing with other artists. He felt it was time to release something of his own and all fans of progressive rock and fusion should be glad he did as Aineo is an excellent release.

My oh my how the process of playing and recording music has changed with the advent of technology. Bülhmann is clearly adept with studio tech and he uses this knowledge to full effect. This is one of those discs that requires your full attention to hear all the sonic details embedded in the sound. The core of his sound is fusion but what really makes this interesting is Bühlmann's use of guitar and electronics, like samples and sequencers. He is able to create simultaneous lines of melody giving the sound an intricacy that you will not soon forget. Often the soundscape contains an ethereal component, much like the work of Robert Fripp and his attention to detail is truly impressive.

The first track "Breakthrough" has Bühlmann's guitar soloing weaving wonderful textural explorations of atmospheric fusion. It is quite a heavy piece with razor sharp chord progressions and quieter sections where the music is allowed to build. In "Ham'nagen", Bühlmann's guitar has a wonderful synthesizer-like tone, meshed with more biting guitar leads and acoustic flavourings. The title track is a laid back slice of progressive fusion featuring clean guitar solos over an atmospheric soundscape of electronics. Layers of guitar textures and fusionesque solos make "Meldilorn" another rewarding listen. "Kenosis" is a heavier piece with electronics and fusion styles blending in a seamless concoction of intoxicating sounds. The guitar harmonics are particularly nice. "Contemplation" ends the disc with an amalgamation of acoustic and electric guitar. It is all very atmospheric and ethereal as well as having one of the prettiest melodies on the disc.

As you can probably tell I am very impressed with Aineo. It is certainly one of the better fusion related CDs I have heard in a long time and thus comes highly recommended.

Track Listing:
1. Breakthrough (6:23)
2. Ham'nagen (7:04)
3. Unexpressed (7:04)
4. Aineo (6:00)
5. Meldilorn (8:19)
6. Kenosis (5:55)
7. Contemplation (11:08)

Added: April 28th 2015
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist's Bandcamp Page
Hits: 1930
Language: english

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