Ben Rath – Anything Is Possible (Sound In Silence)

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An ambient multi-instrumentalist who’s based in Manchester, Ben Rath is something of a prolific worker, having previously released six albums under his own name since his project’s inception back in 2015. This latest seventh album ‘Anything Is Possible’ offers up Rath’s second release for Greek label Sound In Silence, following 2016’s well-received ‘Forgiveness’ album.

Throughout the eight tracks collected here, Rath builds treated drones and gentle melodies drawn from both synthetic and instrumental sources into a lush sound palette, with the emphasis being upon contemplation and serene wistfulness. It’s often difficult to discern the individual sources of the separate textural elements as they bleed together into warm, ebbing ambience.

Indeed, opening track ‘It Was Always Inside’ sees what appear to be rich cello strokes being digitally folded and refracted in on themselves as distant orchestral drones swell in the foreground amidst sun-dappled glints of treated guitar. With a focus upon gently building layers and a warm sense of optimism, it aptly sets the tone for what’s to come.

‘Flow Of Creation’ spends its eight and a half minutes shifting from a slow wash of gauzy ambient tones and droning bass presence into glassy delicate synth arrangements that suggest a gently rising sun more than anything glacial as they slowly unfurl, in what’s easily one of the more ambient-idm tinged moments here. ‘Innate Value’ reaches out into widescreen post-rock territory, as slow guitar strokes underpin a gently ebbing backdrop of trailing horns and glimmering ambient layers, the track’s gradual epic build into a wash of swelling synth drones, leaving the listener drenched in walls of spiralling reverb.

Elsewhere, ‘Give Up Trying’ sees digitally processed strings trailing like luminescent smoke against yawning background drones, the entire track slowly transforming itself into a glacial wash of reverbed-out bass tones. All up, ‘Anything Is Possible’ sees Rath offering up one of the most pleasant and immersive ambient listening experiences that I’ve heard so far this year. Best move fast if you’re after a physical copy, as there’s only a limited run of 150 CDr copies available.

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A dastardly man with too much music and too little time on his hands

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