Brudini: From Darkness, Light

Sometimes an album cover reveals hints as to the music contained within. This would seem to be the case with Brudini, a singer/songwriter residing in London but with a Thai/Norwegian heritage. From the cover I glean a mysteriousness, ethereal quality, hard to put into words but it is there, nonetheless. And that my friends is what makes this album special.

Brudini’s (Erik Brudvik) debut album is titled From Darkness, Light and was released in 2020 on Apollon Records. This is an unusual album, experimental in scope, both lyrically and musically. Brudini is an excellent lyricist, able to paint visual pictures through his words. There is certainly a storytelling aspect at play here. On a few tracks he also recites poems by California writer Chip Martin. These spoken word pieces fit well within his own lyrics, exhibiting a high degree of experimentalism and minimalistic instrumentation. The music is hard to pigeonhole as elements of jazz, electronic, art rock, and ambient tantalize the senses. Brudini has an understated vocal delivery, not technically perfect but is both real and emotive invoking a rich timbre that is highly effective in spinning his yarns. He is also talented musically, dabbling in piano and guitar, not in any virtuosic sense but in shaping his surrealistic soundscapes in creative and interesting ways. The short, spoken word piece “Roselight�, accompanied by a somber piano motif starts the proceedings in a haunting and somber way. With “Nightcrawler�, a light drum rhythm and pretty acoustic guitar takes on a minimalistic approach, but the mood is altered when bursts of electric guitar and electronics interrupt the tranquility. Brudini’s artfulness shines through in this one. Chip Martin’s poetry is again featured on “Hunger�, set to a dark experimental backdrop. Sparse acoustic guitar and Brudini’s haunting vocals define “Female Rimbaud� while the piano and violin in the somber “Reflections� is quite nice.

From Darkness, Light is an artistic and emotional album, subtle yet daring, and should find an audience with many of our readers. Highly recommended.

Track Listing:
1. Roselight (2:16)
2. Nightcrawler (4:15)
3. Hunger (2:46)
4. Reflections (4:20)
5. Female Rimbaud (4:40)
6. Emotional Outlaw (4:35)
7. Pale Gold (3:31)
8. God Unknown (1:21)
9. Radiant Man (3:27)
10. Ariel (1:36)
11. Everything Is Movement (6:29)
12. Boulevards (2:29)

Added: August 22nd 2021
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Artist @ Bandcamp
Hits: 639
Language: english

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