CD, Miasmah, 2007
www.myspace.com/rafaelantonirisarri
There is a thin line between a melancholic picture in your mind and a desolate landscape which you just photographed with your digital camera. “Daydreaming” by Rafael Anton Irisarri is an album which has a little bit of both.
The visuals the album depicts are the kind you normally only watch on National Geographic Channel. The kind of images that make you wish you were there the moment you look. Anything gorgeous with nature, a few traces of humanity and no person anywhere within at least 20 miles. Who wouldn’t give everything in his or her world if you would be able to just be there and enjoy life to the fullest. The ultimate daydream.
The instruments used are mainly organic or classical inspired, but there is also a good amount of electronics and field-recordings. The balance leans a bit towards the classical influences, but that’s not bad. The instruments are very well played, recorded and mixed and you can hear a master at work (several masters actually). The tension in the tracks is good and with each track you are eager to see what is on the other side of the hill.
But as always, there is a “but”. The result just misses that final touch to actually leave this world and get stuck in the world of “Daydreaming”. Please, don’t think you shouldn’t give this CD a chance but there is one more important aspect that need to be written down and it concerns the playing time. Since when is a CD of 34 minutes being sold as a CD instead of an EP?
Personally I think the whole concept of “Daydreaming” would have been stronger if certain emotions or structures would have gotten a chance to evolve over a longer period of time. A missed opportunity which leaves the listener with an unfinished dream…
[7/10]
— Bauke van der Wal