Martin Martyn - X (h239)

The curiously named Martin Martyn, not least because the two protagonists are called Hideyuki Hashimoto & Yuri Atowa, sprung to my attention this week and I'm very pleased to make their acquaintance. Hashimoto is a pianist/composer, based in Kagawa Japan, with a nice line in minimal piano and Atowa appears, based on her Instagram, to be a Japanese violinist. They're certainly making some beautiful noise together.

Their latest release, "X" is a serene slice of ambient piano. I don't know if Atowa left her violin at home and decided to jump behind some synths to make up for it, or whether she is running her instrument through some ethereal effects units, more likely the former, but the synergy with Hashimoto's piano is real. She slides the atmospheric synth pads under his delicate keys, sending them spiralling through the speakers on the warm currents to hang in the air of whichever room is lucky enough to have received them.

The track barely raises a whisper at any point, starting softly and continuing in that vein until it vanishes into the ether 150 seconds later, like a waking dream that somehow bridges the gap between reality and your imagination. Lovely stuff.

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Playlist Companion:

Find this most serene of tunes in good company in The New Age of New Age Playlist.