Nestled between soundscape smoky and mesmerizing progressions, the latest work by the Turkish Orkun Akbal finds its strength in the typical stratagems of http://ondarock.it/recensioni/ambient: reverbs and arpeggios, microsounds and granular synthesis, i.e. the electroacoustic technique that allows a sound to be broken down into grains. The artist certainly knows the theory, as demonstrated by title track which in just four minutes contains not the usual drone, but an organic and controlled evolution. The search for a less static writing is undoubtedly one of the strong points, a trait that instead in debut album “The Age Of Spiral” left room for a more monolithic conception.
In an ocean of nuanced and meditative contours, modulations and filtering emerge; Orkun A. makes the art of layeringthe ability to place different sounds together making them so fused that they sound like a unique alive, a choice which in some cases however leaves some doubts. The reason lies not so much in real distortions, but in the desire to present a record which, rather than reinterpreting the canons of the genre, exposes them without adding further substance.
Glimmers of light can be glimpsed in the underwater dives of “Lys”, which in just three minutes already manages to say a lot, or in the following “Nothing Motion”, whose synthesizers disappear and resurface in an ecstatic breath.
“Iridescent” is a composed and measured work, in its aspiration to a progressive ambient rich in details, but which rarely leaves room for surprise; although pleasant in its forty minutes and full of respect and savoir-faire technical, it is unlikely to stimulate the urgency of further re-listenings.
01/26/2026
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
