Album: Hans-Joachim Roedelius & Tim Story

Inlandish (Gronland)

One half of the Krautrock duo Cluster, Hans-Joachim Roedelius first worked with the American composer Tim Story in 1996. Inlandish is their third collaboration, and the best, being full of heart-melting melodies and subtle backdrops they describe as "emotionally ambiguous soundscapes". Surprisingly, it's Story who provides the synth parts and additional arrangements, with Roedelius restricting himself to the limpid piano progressions that are at the heart of these pieces – a division of labour that brings quietly spectacular results in "As It Were", whose calm manner recalls the new-age music of Ludovico Einaudi, and "Trouvé", where an oboe adds a quizzical edge to the hushed warmth of the organ undulating gently behind the piano. The "emotionally ambiguous" aspects are represented in "House of Glances", in which the piano arpeggios are lent a little wistful mystery by overdubbed organ and oboe, and "Inlandish", a gorgeous melody dusted with swells of synthesiser. Faultless.

Download this:'Inlandish', 'House of Glances', 'As It Were', 'Trouvé', 'Rooftree'