Classical: Oliviaway & Atm9lab - Autumn Landscape (2018)

85 / 100

The album marks a surprising shift for Oliviaway, usually known for soft ambient, into an autumnal atmosphere through classical-style piano.

It can be said that Oliviaway is one of the prolific ambient artists who rarely fails to capture the heart since first knowing their work in the 2020s. Autumn Landscape itself shows a contrasting side by collaborating with Atm9lab, who seems to be the same artist behind Atm9, who had also played together with Blank Embrace and Nonpandoras. Unfortunately, the Bandcamp pages of Atm9 and Atm9lab are now gone.

The figure of Oliviaway, usually full of soft ambient, is now replaced with melancholic and slightly dark piano tones typical of autumn through the presence of Atm9lab, instead of just maintaining ambient as in several previous collaborations under the Atm9 name. The piano played here is classical, with minimal ambient following the echoes of sound rather than standing out to giving a more cinematic sensation.

The first two tracks are played calmly, as if portraying a time at the end of sleep, still trapped in a dream on a cold autumn morning, then eyes blinking while looking at the scenery outside. However, the reluctance to wake up is surprised by an alarm or a memory of something important that makes one hurry, as in the closing track, “Wake.”

It is certainly quite surprising that Oliviaway also releases a classical piano record while still keeping a signature trait—three tracks in each release—and in the end, the three tracks above easily pass the test to enter the playlist. Now, Autumn Landscape will sit alongside Waterfall and Time Alone With You.

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