robin saville: build a diorama

ISAN's Robin Saville reveals an ambient album, which merges the electronica aesthetics of his main project with field recordings, drones, and acoustic instrumentation. A lot of things have been written about what happens to the mind when the body starts moving. Instead of reciting poems of the inevitable self-help books, let's get straight to the point: For many, taking walks on a regular basis is both liberating and empowering. It is not necessarily so much about the exercise, but rather finding one's own rhythm in life. Robin Saville is such an ambler. His walks inspired him to base his third solo album -- his first one for Morr Music following releases on Static Caravan and Second Language -- on the out of the way places he came to see and experience while being out and about. Clocking in at just under 40 minutes in total, Build A Diorama is both a subtle culmination and a poignant antipode to what Saville has achieved together with Antony Ryan as ISAN. While the aesthetics might seem similar in places, Saville opts for a decisively different pace when it comes to writing and producing. Progress is steady, and change, however, is slow -- like looking at a diorama for a long period of time in the ever so slightly changing light or as a flaneur focusing on one particular spot, a found object so-to-speak, waiting for the mind to orchestrate it appropriately, giving it sense and meaning. Built around quiet field recordings, Saville's six compositions transform this highly personal and, therefore, difficult-to-convey experience into a comprehensible exploration of beauty. Where ISAN almost exclusively uses electronics, Saville deliberately expands this well-established palette with acoustic instruments like bass guitar, chimes, and glockenspiel, aiming for an even more suitable musical manifestation of what the walker sees and feels once he fully engages in his passion. Ranging from blissfully pulsing pads allowing for complete associative freedom ("The Deepdale Halophyte Economy") to the playful minimalism of an orchestra dominated by busy bells ("Bosky"), Saville's Build A Diorama is not just a valuable addition to his musical output, but an essential audio guide for those striving to explore, learn, and understand.