Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

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Under The Radar MAY 16, 2018 - by Matt The Raven

BRIAN ENO: MUSIC FOR INSTALLATIONS

Brian Eno may be well known for his influence on iconic rock artists David Bowie, U2, Coldplay, Devo, and James, and producing some of their most artistic and commercial successes, but he is best known as the Godfather of ambient music for essentially conceiving the genre.

Music For Installations is a 6-CD super deluxe limited edition numbered box set of new, rare, and previously unreleased music, all of which was recorded by Eno for use in his installations covering the period from 1986 until the present and beyond.

It contains both the expected and, of course, the unexpected. The expected is an alternate musical universe filled with slowly shifting waves of meditative, hypnotic, and majestic harmonies that fit perfectly into Eno's elucidation of ambient music. That is, music that envelops the listener without drawing attention to itself, that can be either actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener.

Eno is always the experimenter/innovator, so Music For Installations has its fair share of the unexpected. Not content to just explore sonic textures and processed sounds, Eno shows off his creative ambition by tinkering with tempo, rhythm, percussion, and even an occasional melody. But it's all done within the constraints of integrating music with the environment to elicit emotions and establish moods. And this is where Eno excels.

Drawing out discreet and poignant sentiments with each listen, the music on Installations provides countless hours of entertainment; constantly edging us closer to experiencing a timeless mind by expanding, and then filling, the gaps between our thoughts with exquisitely seductive music.