Stockholm-based producer John Roger Olsson uses Havenaire as his ambient alias, and this is his first album for the Italian label Glacial Movements. In keeping with many other releases on the label ‘Rabot’ is a collection of pieces based on photographs, and works without the need for percussion, relying on keyboard pulses and slowly shifting loops to generate movement. Olsson uses a richly layered sound, piling up big chords that float in mid-air. These can move between the bright, airy ‘Enquist Photo 1910’ and the more threatening ‘Calving’, which uses quarter tones to unnerving effect towards the end. The beautiful sounds echo the glaciers that inspire a lot of this music, and Olsson presents it as bright, calming ambience that slows the mind in all the right ways.
Ben Hogwood
4 out of 5
