LEBOWSKI – Cinematic (2010)
It’s called “Cinematic” and is being presented as a soundtrack to a non-existent movie. I can easily hear it.
In fact the movie that plays in my mind as I listen to it, is a drama. A drama set in a hustling bustling city, during a rainy winter day (perhaps this is due to the cover of the album).
The movie focuses on several individuals as they go about their daily routine and plans. Each person has something on their mind, perhaps a problem or a load on their chest. Each song depicts how that person deals with his or her own private issue.
But if you prefer, you can read the band’s comments on each piece in the booklet (included, written in Polish and English) with notes on the album itself as a whole. Those are quite interesting and revealing of the band’s mindset and approach to the making of the disc.
The album is instrumental but the band added vocals from movies. Those are well made combinations and match the ambiance of the tracks in which they’re placed in.
The music is spacious, volumetric and contrasts softness and aggressiveness.
The pace is for the most part, slow and ponderous. In fact there’s little variation in that facet but that is not that much of an issue since other aspects such as volume and intensity, mellowness and fierceness, exhibit dynamics.
Moreover, the drumming is quite engaging and creative and provides the music the necessary shifts between a pensive state and a more agitated mood.
The tunes are fleshed out clearly and mostly as soon as the track starts, with each tune having a plain melody but one that is amplified in its effect by the instrumentation and sampling, i.e. the layering of each piece.
These are what give the music its aforementioned spacey and rich feel.
“Cinematic” is an album with a compelling, rich atmosphere.
It is over an hour long album and thus can be cumbersome and too much for one sitting. But that is evidence of its qualities and weight, not its weakness.
In fact what I suggest is to use your right as a listener and listen to it in two parts. Create of it a soundtrack of your own, by editing it in any way you feel appropriate.
This is a CD I wasn’t expecting to have that much of an impact on me, but it has succeeded in surprising and impressing me. Contains lovely melodies, spacey vibe, a charming ambiance and a creative touch.
Something different, original to try. Get a glass of your favorite wine or scotch and enjoy this wonderful, enchanting audio experience.
1 – Trip To Doha
2 – 137 sec.
3 – Cinematic
4 – Old British Spy Movie
5 – Iceland
6 – Encore
7 – Aperitif For Breakfast (O.M.R.J)
8 – Spiritual Machine
9 – The Storyteller (Svensson)
10 – Human Error
Marcin Grzegorczyk – Guitars
Marcin Luczaj – Synths, Keyboards
Marek Zak – Bass
Krzysztof Pakula – Drums, Percussion
Guest artist:
Katarzyna Dziubak – Vocals, Violin (2, 4)
lebowski.hosted.pl/english/cinematic_en.htm
IF YOU LIKE IT, BUY IT!
Thanks to Blazej from Poland
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