Mask - Heavy Petal

Mask are a collaboration between ambient composer/producer Marvin Ayres and singer Sonja Kristina, best-known for fronting early-70's prog-pop band Curved Air. Their first album as an official duo, "Heavy Petal" is a fascinating journey through diverse styles of art-pop and ambient soundscaping, all blended with a sophisticated production. It's put together with love and flows seamlessly and cinematically through a series of colourful scenes.

Two filmic instrumentals set the album's eclectic mood: the Arabic rumblings of "Dark Murmur", and the swarming strings and fiddle flights of fancy on "Global Incantation". Ayres is renowned in ambient circles for his organic sound design, and you can hear why from the flair that goes into these arrangements. As well as pure impressionistic ambient pieces like "Healing Senses", there's often a modern touch of tweaky electronica, as on "Shelter Skelter", and the Future Sound of London-like "Living Inside My Head". He's an accomplished violinist and cellist, and plays plenty of those throughout, both conventionally and as the basis of complex processed sound collages, as on his solo album "Cellosphere". Many of the instrumental numbers were spawned from improvisation. This comes across most strongly on "Lambent Spire", a melancholy, spiralling cello and voice lament that recalls the climax of Peter Gabriel's "Passion". Indeed, studio-based sound collaging might also count as a kind of improvisation, if the musician is relaxed enough about going with the flow.

Kristina's voice will of course be recognisable to those familiar with Curved Air. It's less quirky and cute than 30 years ago, now with a softer but still pure tone, well-suited to "Heavy Petal"'s silken ambient music. Principally in several songs, but also wordless vocalising, as on the Enya-like "Paean". It's no surprise, but still worth commenting on, that Mask actually make pretty good pop music. Songs such as The featherweight "Fall So Hard" and especially the juicily-harmonised "Blue Words" are sweet and effortless, sounding as if they've been writing new-age ballads for years. It's keyboard-smeared fluff, but pleasingly mellow and tastefully-arranged fluff all the same. Though some real drums would have been nice on "Blue Words". The songs often remind me distinctly of Jon and Vangelis. In particular, "Those Ghosts", with its in-the-clouds, decadently harmonised keyboards, and a tingling vocal which would have suited Jon Anderson.

The album's promo material album emphasises its spiritual inspiration, with much talk of musical "healing" and the cunning use of overtones. These ideas are by no means necessary to appreciate the music, and personally I find it detracts from it, although that's just my anti-new age prejudices. Talking of Jon Anderson, with the album's new-age roots and combination of worldy influences and modern gestures, it could have easily turned into spiritual cheese. Remember early 90s phenomena like Enigma and Deep Forest? But it avoids cliches with confidence. I think this is the kind of thing that I'm disappointed that Mike Oldfield never got into in latter years, instead the routine noodling that he churned out.

There's even an associated story-concept of sorts which grew alongside the music, lingering in the album's official subtitle "The Tenebrous Odyssey of Jack and Virginia", but this is just an amusing aside to the music. The accompanying DVD is a pleasing addition though, with some lush video work from film artist Outerbongolia, including an intricate abstract visual for an extended version of "Healing Senses". The generous presentation and promo campaign is impressive, although I fear there's a limit to how successful Mask will be outside the niche of ambient pop. Category-defying crossovers can be hard to sell, which is a shame, because this is the kind of crossover that might draw in a diverse set of listeners.

July 4, 2006

7 out of 10

see also...

• Marvin Ayres - Cellosphere
• Peter Gabriel - Passion

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