While I have listened to all of Between Interval’s past output, I have never been truly impressed until hearing “The Edge of a Fairytale”, which, ever since seeing its artwork and song titles, has captivated me completely. Always fascinated with the stars and space (”Secret Observatory”), Between Interval now successfully brings you among them, to feel the size and shape of the void. Yet the void seems friendly when this album is playing. It takes the blurry, whooshing resonance of past albums like “Autumn Continent” into a newfound sharp, airy and crisp clarity. The album is so powerfully WHITE and PURE… A truly blank, holy white, blissfully at one with the massive, shining universe. Somehow never harsh or unpleasant, resonant whitewash blots out all other melodic tones, replacing them with rushing, beautiful sound. It’s like a splash of cold water in the face… It has the purity of snow, of mountain air. And yet it seems a creation of celestial or spiritual inspiration more than an ‘arctic ambient’ piece like Biosphere’s “Substrata”. The album seems charged with a strange magical vibrancy, making the title seem quite relevant.
Occasional processed melodic voices flicker in and out the mix in tracks like “Atlantis Lost”, gone before the mind can really even process them. It adds a little lonely urban flavor, reminiscent of Burial’s Untrue or the works of Scanner. The album seems to alternate between personal, introverted sensitivity and a universalized divine bliss. He’s obviously been listening to a lot of Lustmord, as well.
While his music has gotten a great more existential and spacey with this release, Stefan Jonsson, now calling himself Stefan ‘Strand’, is still less patient than an older ambient master like Steve Roach… His tracks are fairly short, and still use conventional synth sounds, loops and rhythmic structures sometimes, although they don’t really have “beats”. They seem almost energetic, and like fellow Scandinavian Biosphere, he doesn’t usually allow himself to drift too far into space, with a few marvelous exceptions, such as the epic “Leviathan”, or “Pillars of Creation”, a truly ecstatic highlight track. Perhaps now, however, I can see “Strand” eventually joining the ranks of Steve Roach and Robert Rich as one of the great ambient masters. He has been lumped in with them in the past, already, but I believe this was a comparison wrongfully made. He still seems like a younger musician to me. This is his “Structures from Silence”, or perhaps even his “Dreamtime Return”.
Other highlights include the absolutely magnificent “Eden In Shadows”, creating some of the most pleasing mental images I’ve ever had from an ambient track. It truly is the sound of the Garden of Eden. The sounds truly seem to evoke a place more lush and full of life than even anywhere on Earth… Warm synth chords resonate with the feelings of these sounds perfectly. It’s Strand’s crowning achievement so far.
In conclusion, this album is a invigorating masterpiece, a blast of spiritual energy and light. Between Interval has become one to watch for me, and this album is why. Recommended for any fan of ambient music. An unconditional 5 stars.
I do expect even greater things from him in the future, seeing as ambient musicians typically age like fine wine.