Arp - The Soft Wave

ARP - THE SOFT WAVE

Smalltown Supersound

New York based multi-instrumentalist Alexis Georgopoulos was one of the co- founders of the “cosmic pop” group Tussle. Since then he has pushed his own music in different directions, crafting and refining a minimalist ambient style under his most recent guise, Arp. The first album, In Light (2007), gained a
degree of critical success for its lush soundscapes, gentle arpeggios, and slow-moving drones. The Soft Wave, his sophomore album (also released on the Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound), features similar warm and lush ambient tones, but with more varied stylistic and instrumental additions.

The Soft Wave is built off a blend of organic instrumentation and analogue synths, but unlike much recent ambient music, it does not seek to evoke any sense of the beauty or tyranny of nature. Far from it, the album feels more like a modern art project that journeys through a shifting world of tonal landscapes. This is developed through the use of two main styles. The first style features a mix of bobbing bass grooves, slowly moving drones, arpeggios and bright synths to create a sense of slow but dynamic movement. It’s used to great effect with “Pastoral Symphony 1. Dominoes 2. Infinity Room,” “Alpha (Dusted),” and “Grapefruit.” A different style of textured backgrounds is used with “White Light,” “Catch Wave,” and “Summer Girl.” These tracks apply a liberal dose of effects alongside organic instrumentation. Further, they are short and sweet for
ambient music, making them sound more like evocative, thoughtful interludes than fully formed tracks.

The album, however, does have some missteps. Although Arp attempts to straddle the fine line between happy and overtly sugary music, he is not always successful. The vocal pop track “From a Balcony Overlooking the Sea,” for instance, reinterprets earlier vocal music made by Brian Eno, but falls fully into the the latter camp. The same can be said for “High Life” and though it follows a similar musical style to that of earlier tracks, it fails to capture the same head-bobbing groove.

As a result, the album is something of a mixed bag. Although I never had an overwhelming urge to listen to this album, I nonetheless never regretted putting it on. The Soft Wave is that type of album. It is forward thinking but builds off and reinterprets the work of analogue ambient greats such as Brian Eno. It is minimalist in nature but includes the oomph and the unique voice necessary to keep an experimental music lover’s sustained interest. Yet when attempting to showcase more structured composition, it is found wanting. Whatever the case, while not the most engaging ambient music to which I have recently listened, the lush tones and pulsing backgrounds make The Soft Wave an engaging album that ambient music fans should check out.

Jeremy Yellen