Mixing Colours - Brian Eno & Roger Eno: Review
really need no introduction. Both have spent decades doing soundtrack work as well as their own compositions. And Brian is one of the most respected experimental musicians of all time having basically invented the concept of ambient music alongside an extensive collection of collaborations and solo releases with so many influential artists. There was a lot of talk about this project that sees the two pairing up for what they described as a "musical conversation" that has apparently been worked on for years.
Review By Lavender:
Brian Eno really needs no introduction even though he got one. He is one of those artists with such an incredible discography spanning decades and a wide range of genres that when you see his name it's just worth a listen. I was surprised to read that this was the first ever project he and his brother Roger had truly collaborated on and while I didn't get the review out right away, after sitting with the album for a while I've actually come around to it.
The record can be a bit difficult to describe. Due to the meeting of the minds of its collaborators I can almost say that it's conventionally ambient but in two different ways. These tracks bounce between the distant and spacious synths blips of so many classic Eno ambient pieces and much louder more omnipresent keys from Roger. The record is long at 18 tracks and well over an hour so rather than repeat myself over and over again I just decided to pick out a handful of my favorite tracks to highlight.
Burnt Umber is a track with some wintery loud synth hits. The atmosphere transitions across the track from warm and welcoming into icy and almost haunting in its minimalism and I really enjoy it. Obsidian is a really interesting track whose synth sounds almost mirror organs with their intensity in the early part of the song. It features some of the deepest and most confounding sounds on the entire album as well for a moment that definitely stands out. Snow has some of the records most natural piano sounds on the record and they translate really well. The phrases hang around just long enough to feel like they maintain momentum while giving each other space to breathe and the result is a song that's serene but never boring.
Quicksilver is one of the longest, loudest and most involved tracks on the record which surprised me to hear at first. The keys are at their loudest and more present on the song but it never feels like it's overwhelming and it blends well with much of the rest of the albums tracklist. Desert Sand is a really cool song that works in layers of synths with the pulsating backgrounds sounding really involved and captivating. It rides this into a very muted and icy outro that makes for one of the most compositionally rich tracks here.
Mixing Colours isn't going to bring anything that ambient fans have never heard before but the clashing of styles makes for a much more seamless listen than I was anticipating. While there are moments on the record that come up short and sometimes a few songs in a row that fail to deliver for the most part the talents of two veteran musicians shine through a lot. If ambient is your style the record is definitely worth your time to explore how Brian's synths meet up with Roger's piano even if it will probably never totally blow you away. 7/10
Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:
I love the simplicity of the artwork in the cover. It's abstract and striking and makes you go back and look at it several times. I love the placement of the type and the off white color of the background because it has such a timeless feel. The only thing I wish was that the color was a little more vibrant. 7/10
For more ambient check out my review of the new Nine Inch Nails Ghosts albums here
