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Ambient: Carlos Ferreira & Ki Oni - A Hundred Ways of Escaping (2022)


79 / 100
One of the recommended ambientwave soundscapes.
Let’s move to a better sound than before, even though not in the form of dungeon synth, but more like typical ambient with -wave synthesizer influence, that also painted in the sunset panorama near the beach as its cover.

It is A Hundred Ways of Escaping, a collaboration album between Brazilian artist Carlos Ferreira and Ki Oni from the USA, released in May 2022 under Umé Records, the same as Sachi Kobayashi and Charles A.D.. Four tracks with total 41 minutes are quite comfortable to the ears, even though the titles and Bandcamp notes about this release seem to point to mental, humanity, and environmental issues. The meaning is like there is no clear point connecting them or a special part representing those issues in each track, so we as listeners are told to find the hidden meaning ourselves. Just like the title of the second track, "Hidden Information."

Well, that’s how instrumental music works. Mysterious in its own way.

The first form of music given is ambient plus piano/synth melody like electronica with a beat sound coming from who knows where. Then it continues with soft ambient waves with some sharp peaks or short light noise. The third track opens with rain sounds, so it’s a bit noisy and has higher synth tones than the previous track, plus some kind of string/piano hum to make the color stronger. But still, it doesn’t really strengthen the meaning of the title. Now, the closing track is the closest offer to wave music with synth sound flowing and dreamy, like inviting us to relax for a while while thinking what to do next.

So, apart from whatever message these two artists want to bring, the album A Hundred Ways of Escaping succeeds in giving a lull that carries listeners to rest, escape from the bitter reality of modern life that is more broken and chaotic. It is four perfect tracks to accompany enjoying the sunset/sleep while thinking about the things that make us tired and hoping everything can be better …

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