Adult Cinema - 365

(CD 2024, 61:21, Private Release)

The tracks:
  1- Spring(14:58)
  2- Summer(15:04)
  3- Autumn(15:10)
  4- Winter(16:07)






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For me it has always been difficult to listen to a whole electronic album with full attention and only the very good and interesting names in this genre manage to do that every now and then. Behind the name Adult Cinema is the Englishman Mike Weston and the name is actually well chosen because the music certainly is very cinematographic. The album title 365 may seem a bit strange but means nothing more than the number of days in a year and that refers to the four seasons that form the titles of the tracks. I think something like this has been done before, a certain Vivaldi also composed such a tune once. All four seasons are given a piece of music of around fifteen minutes and the music is supplemented with spoken texts that are sometimes recited in poetic form. In spring and winter this was done by David Streames and in the summer by Leroy Lindo and Himiko Fukaya. Weston plays all the instruments and has also taken care of the recordings of church bells and other sounds used here and there.
We start in the Spring and we hear a very slow and long build-up that only leads to a fuller sound with some more variation and some bombast later on in the song. It sounds pretty good but I quickly loose attention. It is certainly quite atmospheric and relaxing but I just miss excitement, variety and surprise. That surprise will come when we go to the Summer. We start with a sound clip of someone pouring drinks and then hear a percussion piece. That gives a summer feeling but that quickly disappears when we get a very old recording of a piece of old folky, bluesy music, that feels rather out of place to me. Eventually we end up with an electronic basis again to which Weston adds some guitar parts. Quit sudenly a reggae rhythm provides the support of a spoken text by someone with a clear Jamaican accent, very summery. The flow of this song is then interrupted by a full stop and then continues as an almost different song with a different rhythm that eventually turns into a real guitar solo at a much higher tempo and with Japanese lyrics. This part of the track could be from the Swiss Yello with the staccato playing on guitar and the tight rhythms. The info talks about the influences of the big names from the 60s and 70s, but I don't hear that so far. But that is still possible because it will of course be Autumn again.
As soon as this song starts, I have to think of Jean Michel Jarre or Tangerine Dream. For the connoisseurs of that genre, there are probably more names to mention. Where you can hear the leaves falling in the classic four-year seasons, so to speak, I somewhat miss that atmosphere in Weston's attempt to capture autumn in music. We hear a number of children, and then adults, counting and that reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd and when we suddenly hear someone singing in the style of Roger Waters/ David Gilmour it becomes a lot more interesting. For the first time it rocks and there are those promised influences from the info where the guitar solo also sounds nice and retro. The keys suddenly sound very vintage and provide that 70s vibe with a clear nod to Pink Floyd's album Meddle. This sounds really good and that makes it the best song on this album for me.
Given this time of year, it is very appropriate to end with Winter. After an icy wind and the sound of shovelling snow and footsteps in the snow, the church bell of Essex tolls. The spoken voice tells us about the challenges of this once harsh season and then I look outside and see only grey and gloomy weather. How I long for a real winter and Watson contributes a bit to that with
his view on this time of year. The rhythm of a sleigh slowly changes into a very floating keyboard carpet over which we hear electronic organ playing. The sequences do their job and the bass supports a slow rhythm over which the guitar threatens a bit but ultimately does not run into the expected solo. The wind picks up again and a distorted voice brings us the last message, after which a somewhat boring rhythm takes us to the end of the winter and also the album.
As for the album cover. The rabbit in the headlights of the almost classic "pike" with license plate AC 365 is nice and shows Weston's creativity once again.
For people who, like me, are more into traditional prog rock, this album is not interesting enough but for those who appreciate the mentioned references, 365 is definitely worth a listen. It is very atmospheric and sometimes touches the atmosphere of the season in question very strikingly, but as said, sometimes. This man really can do a lot but has not succeeded in convincing me completely. Don't let this prevent you from listening to 365 though, it might bring you a lot of pleasure.

***- Erik Fraanje (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)

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