Electro/ambient is a pretty vague description of what an artist may sound like. One who embodies this term could possibly be an offshoot of Board of Canada's pioneering IDM meets ethereal ambience style, or perhaps a more subtle reincarnation akin to Stars of the Lid's hypnotizing aural submersion. Still not on the mark? How about some of Hammock's gloriously melodic concoction or Sigur Ros' angelic panacea? Or maybe something along the lines of God is an Astronauts shimmering rock styled ambience, or Lights out Asia's emotive post-rock rendition? Truth be told, Chamberland does a pretty good job at working his way through all of these over the course of Think Over. The ground he covers is impressive, to say the least, and it certainly demonstrates that he has a fine understanding of the forces he's working with and makes a strong argument of their mastery as well.
Think Over comes bundled with a nice little conceptual theme that ties the tracks together, which is most noticeably expressed in the voice overs. If you haven't figured it out by the last track, it should become blatantly obvious, and the realization is nothing that is all too shocking for an ambient experience. Through this vehicle Apjiw gets a lot of mileage out of his diverse influences, and the variety of the album is one of its strong points. Tracks flow from one an excellent ambient synth or drone into a heavy programmed beat or piano line without blinking an eye. Apjiw makes it all look so easy, it's a wonder why we see so many disastrous electronic albums released every year. Chamberland's past experience clearly is an asset to Think Over; even though there's such a plethora of ideas and exchanges occurring on a track by track basis, he maintains the cinematic air throughout, which wraps the listener in a warm, envigorating cocoon. "Fun" also permeates through the album, with so
me use of musical boxes and other toys for musical effect. While some have over exploited this novelty, Chamberland is sure to balance this component with the rest of the layers; balanace is one of the key themes of the album, after all. And whether it be the strong melodies, the caustic ambience, or the glitchy beats, Think Over keeps the pace moving quickly and doesn't let our attention stray too far from home. Primarily upbeat and sometimes downright groovy, the audience should be grinning from ear to ear while eating up Apjiw's every last note. Some criticism must be made towards the album's length, which is not justified by the content provided here. True, Chamberland is wonderful at his craft, but there's not a lot of substance in the tiny three to four minutes tracks, which sometimes sound like fragments than full fledged compositions themselves.
One explanation might be that the album resembles that of a score for a film, which he is understandably accustomed to, but musical albums are a much different matter. The last third of the disc simply regurgitates ideas and sequences that we've already experienced during the first forty minutes, and I do believe cutting a good twenty minutes from the album would greatly benefit Think Over's overall effect. As is, it's overlong and drags towards the end. Criticisms aside, Think Over is an enjoyable album which should fit nicely in the collections of many electro and ambient enthusiasts. If Chamberland continues work on this project, I forsee great things in the future, though some distinction must be made from his day job in order to maximize results.
Think Over comes bundled with a nice little conceptual theme that ties the tracks together, which is most noticeably expressed in the voice overs. If you haven't figured it out by the last track, it should become blatantly obvious, and the realization is nothing that is all too shocking for an ambient experience. Through this vehicle Apjiw gets a lot of mileage out of his diverse influences, and the variety of the album is one of its strong points. Tracks flow from one an excellent ambient synth or drone into a heavy programmed beat or piano line without blinking an eye. Apjiw makes it all look so easy, it's a wonder why we see so many disastrous electronic albums released every year. Chamberland's past experience clearly is an asset to Think Over; even though there's such a plethora of ideas and exchanges occurring on a track by track basis, he maintains the cinematic air throughout, which wraps the listener in a warm, envigorating cocoon. "Fun" also permeates through the album, with so
me use of musical boxes and other toys for musical effect. While some have over exploited this novelty, Chamberland is sure to balance this component with the rest of the layers; balanace is one of the key themes of the album, after all. And whether it be the strong melodies, the caustic ambience, or the glitchy beats, Think Over keeps the pace moving quickly and doesn't let our attention stray too far from home. Primarily upbeat and sometimes downright groovy, the audience should be grinning from ear to ear while eating up Apjiw's every last note. Some criticism must be made towards the album's length, which is not justified by the content provided here. True, Chamberland is wonderful at his craft, but there's not a lot of substance in the tiny three to four minutes tracks, which sometimes sound like fragments than full fledged compositions themselves.One explanation might be that the album resembles that of a score for a film, which he is understandably accustomed to, but musical albums are a much different matter. The last third of the disc simply regurgitates ideas and sequences that we've already experienced during the first forty minutes, and I do believe cutting a good twenty minutes from the album would greatly benefit Think Over's overall effect. As is, it's overlong and drags towards the end. Criticisms aside, Think Over is an enjoyable album which should fit nicely in the collections of many electro and ambient enthusiasts. If Chamberland continues work on this project, I forsee great things in the future, though some distinction must be made from his day job in order to maximize results.
Label: 9.12
Country: Canada
Genre: Folk
Style: Experimental, Ambient
Apjiw - Think Over (September, 2007)
2. Living in a box
3. PPP
4. The man who talks to birds
5. YYY
6. Prism Flame
7. 15
8. Tears
9. 1 sec left
10. Angel Sleep
11. Make a wish
12. Ouverture
13. 2 sec left (remix)
14. Think over
15. Amniotic (remix)
16. 3 sec left (remix)
Apjiw - Things (April, 2009)
2. Anilu
3. Maat
4. Fly With Me
5. Continuous Present
6. 134
7. Tears for Us
8. the Shared Fate
9. Breach
10. Human Rights
11. Just a New Day
12. Printemps
13. the Magic Circle
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