Max Richter: 24 Postcards In Full Colour

If I had to have someone/band do a soundtrack to my life, my first choice would be Max Richter. This man captures the slightest emotions and moments so eloquently in his compositions. Even though this album was billed as somewhat of a novelty, it is definitely no exception to his other masterful works. What I mean by novelty is that Max, himself, billed this album as a "ringtone" album; making smaller tracks so you can play them as your, well... ring tones on cell phone. I find it to be so much more than just that. I really see them as tiny glimpses of different times, feelings, and emotions that were recorded at just the optimal time. Besides this album being a smaller format than his normal 7+ minute compositions he normally does, there is a wide arrangement of sound (he tends to relagate mainly to strings/piano with very slight ambient washes used sparingly). Some tracks even go into the realm of complete abstract post-ambient, a-la "Tim Hecker". He sometimes brings in both his conservative and avante-garde writing such as the track, "A Sudden Manhattan Of The Mind"; the playing of a single violin over a wash of ambient noise perfectly puts you in the head of this composer. Another good example is "In Louisville At 7"; it sounds as if you are tapping into a radio transmission of that certain moment only to find it lost as soon as you see it clearly. I would draw comparisons with "Goldmund","Johann Johannson","Eluvium", and even "Benoit Piolard", but his stuff really tends to really stand on its own. I can't recommend this album enough. It is a must have for fans of ambient, modern classical and minimal music.

» album @ emusic
» artist profile @ last.fm