Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #559212 in Music
• Released on: 2007-07-18
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Marsen Jules- Golden review (9/10)
Every so often an unsuspecting piece of music graces our reference system which leaves us numb. The appropriately titled `Golden' by Marsen Jules (aka Martin Juhls) is one such album. Out on genesungswerk, a wonderful German label with a keen sense of attention to detail (not just in their artists but in their packaging), `Golden' is Jules' fourth album following on from album releases on Autoplate and City Centre Offices.

`Golden' features sumptuously twitching and densely produced electronica, highly involving and gloriously warm textures, impressive and totally captivating melodies and a meandering succession of moods which shifts delicately from darkly ominous tones to angelic white-light. It is clear that Jules understands the art of layering and arrangement and as such, he doesn't fall in the trap of formulaic structure and hurried sonic deliberations. Neither does he lose his sound in an amorphous heap of unemotional and meaningless meanderings. The sound on `Golden' is very much focused and time-bound, and the album is designed to be played in a whole sitting which consists of 7 movements taking 44 mins.

The opener, track 1, `Birkengeflüster' launches the listener into a disorientated state of mind through unleashing sonic waves of repetitive instrument clusters (natural and processed) which may be influenced by Terry Riley or Steve Reich's repetition pieces. Gorgeous wafts of instrumentation consisting of natural guitar and acoustic piano float on the surface, generating a hazy feel which seeps into the listener's mindset. The subtle yet `bubbling under the surface' industrial landscape generated by track 2, `Während' paves the way for track 3, `Golden', a cleverly arranged and playful ménage of emotionally drenched piano keys, bass heavy reverb and bursts of tightly clustered electronica.

Track 5 `An einem Wintermorgen' sees the remit of piano and acoustic guitar expanded to reveal a meandering and relatively full bodied melody which is deeply rooted in the dark eclectic Americana of `Ralph Towner'. This sound is wonderfully complimented by subtle and sparkling shards of electronic sounds which create a dreamy sense of time as illusion.
As track 6 `Von hier nach dort' approaches, it feels like the gates have been opened upon a large, mystic and richly populated landscape. New instruments join the fray resulting in increased layers, more complex arrangements and a full bodied sense of `grandeur'. Again time is suspended as Jules delves deeper into the darkness and creates an eerie yet lush atmosphere which constantly threatens the light with dark. Twanging acoustic guitar and shimmering keys synergise proceedings by creating a welcome sense of intimacy which all in all creates a fantastic listeners experience.

The album closes on the 8 minute `Contenance' which starts off with intermittent bass releases and is then accompanied by natural and manipulated lush guitar strings which drip in liquid disquiet. What follows is the apex of everything Jules sought to create with `Golden'. Natural instruments and electronically processed sounds unite and flutter around each other, egging each other on to create a increasingly tense atmosphere with a foreboding yet euphoric tone. To the less well versed, this could be described as sounding like a more complex UNKLE soundscape circa Never Never Land. For over a minute the tense momentum pursues and Jules could have elected to use this moment as a launch pad into a Venetian Snares-esque destruction sequence. Instead however the track peters out leaving the listener on an audio-high.

Ultimately `Golden' is a highly successful and difficult-to-create exercise of fusing the natural with the manipulated. Jules succeeds in combining the elements to create an other-worldly, ethereal soundscape which is richly composed and thoroughly engaging. The overall effect is like being transported to the after life where your disorientation propels you into a state of mind where you can only experience true warmth and pure emotional bliss.

For fans of: Murcof, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Steven Reich