Krystian Shek - Celestial Court [CD]

Cue up a new Krystian Shek release, and it makes for a time of automatic rejoicing. The man has shown a limitless ability to crack any old electronica nut through the years, starting with his very early FAX recordings unveiled to us via the late Pete Namlook's expert tutelage. Celestial Court holds forth in the expected manner, threading it's way across a veritable starfield of opulent ambience, twinkling synths, and an almost fairy-tale aesthetic. Shek is perhaps one of Namlook's prime FAX grad students who have taken his notion of 'new environmental music' to heart. "Hope" surely points the way there, marrying birdsong to a rugged dub-techno aesthetic minus the techno: it's an absolutely riveting slice of 2001-like melancholia, Vangelis-tinted grandeur, and Yagya-flavored animotion. "Solace" also acclimatizes us in expert fashion, ushering in contemplative weather systems wherein late summer rainfall is further mimed in a torrential sequencer downpour, burbles, bangles, and beads reflecting off shiny silver surfaces. Shek is but one of the few synth glitterati who not only imparts majesty on his digital landscapes but the right tincture of emotional rescue when called for: "Moment of Truth" is one such lovely piece, steeped in the kind of synthetic hush-hush Robert Schroeder's made famous, but embellished with Shek's singular touch and enveloping warmth. Go gaga over it all.