Not many press releases can claim to be on the money, but when describing Ensemble as ‘lush orchestration meets sophisticated pop’, FatCat have it pretty much spot on. Ensemble is in fact Olivier Alary, a Montreal resident who clearly knows his violins from his cellos. The slow tempo of much of this record gives him ample opportunity to explore different textures as an accompaniment to songs such as ‘Things I Forget’, ’Excerpts’ and ‘Imprints’. It’s easy here to detect the influence of composers such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich, not to mention some of the artists Alary has worked with, such as Björk, but there remains an originality through the album that renders it a late night treat.
4 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood
