[reviews] afe115lcd
horchata: acytota

A while ago, Andrea from Afe Records told me that after he has finished the final mixdown of this or that release he uses to give a final listening to what he's done while falling asleep. I'm sure after having read this confession you won't have an hard time figuring out the head chief at Afe had probably fallen in love with Michael Palace/Horchata's music at the first listening (or should I write first sleep?!..;-).

Despite the minidisc recording coming from Amazonia and Mato Grosso, the very matter of this release is made out of drones and ambient music and Palace is a real master for what regards the use of soft droning and subtle sounds that creep slowly behind the dark melodies.

Despite being a really dark piece what surprises me the most of "Acytota" is the fact it's still far from a dark ambient effort and it also maintains a really warm essence. I'm sure it has to do with self suggestion, but while listening to these soft foggy drones I could also imagine one of those heartbreaking documentaries portraying animal wildlife so well you'd die to be there.

Palace in the past have also recorded material on labels such as Ad Noiseam and it may help you to understand we're speaking about a top notch ambient musician, but soft sounds, drones and the great production of this new release speak louder than his discography or I'd better write they’re just softer than a thousand drones. Melancholic, misty and heartfelt.

[Andrea Ferraris]