Because I am such an amazing, sympathetic, vivid, bright, virile, smart, professional, handsome and, above all, modest and humble reviewer (why are you sardonically grimacing?), I have the chance to meet some very sympathetic and kind musicians from all over our beautiful yet rotting globe. An example is Lawrence K., the guy behind the Dark Ambient / Dungeon Synth outfit Idylls Of The Last King. With pleasure and dedication, I wrote down my humble thoughts on some of the former releases.
A few months ago, this Cyprus-based project released a new work, i.e. a three-track EP with the smooth title In The Gardens Of Our Forefathers. An important message is this: ‘all proceeds from Bandcamp digital sales will be donated to charities supporting orphaned children in Ukraine’! Support! Respect!
A place, a moment in time, where all that existed were youthful adventures with tin helmets, wooden swords, and paper dragons… Melancholia and memories, innocence and youthful bravery…
In The Gardens Of Our Forefathers is a digital-only release (but who knows, there might be a physical re-issue in the future???), coming with unusual yet truly beautiful artwork: a colorful bouquet of flowers in front of a grey-marbled background. It might mark the subtle stylistic progression, yet still it does intrigue undersigned.
Anyway, In The Gardens Of Our Forefathers opens with Dragonflies And Rat Skeletons (04:49), which offers a calming, esoteric, even transcendental Comfy Synth oriented harmony. Serene, tranquillizing piano-like melodies and floating keyboards are combined in a structural piece of both neo-classical and cinematic grandeur. Step by step, this piece expands, with new layers getting introduced, resulting from an introvert piece towards an abundant epos. Climbing up towards a dramatic hymn, Dragonflies And Rat Skeletons translates the formerly known Idylls Of The Last King’s characteristic Dark Ambient-laden martial tactics into a rather expedient prosperity. Next comes the original version of As Your Last Remaining Memory Fades Away (03:44), starting very intimate and down-sized. Step by step, yet very slowly, elements join: keyboard lines get added, floating, mesmerizing, efflorescing. The whole gets covered in an atmosphere that perfectly finds an equilibrium in between a distant darkness (though not of the morbid, oppressive kind; rather from a melancholic point of view), and an enlightening faraway-horizon (revealing a pale glimpse of memento and admission). The EP ends with the renewed version of As Your Last Remaining Memory Fades Away (03:53). It’s covered into a veil of, well, little more despair, tristesse, sorrow, yet offering an affectionate hint of bright presentimental expectation too. But it still maintains the in-depth nostalgia of the initial version.
Compared to the past, there is (once again) a remarkable transition, both stylistically and atmospherically. The Dungeon / Martial / Winter Synth oriented majesty has made way for a rather introspective, melancholic and classical approach. Nonetheless the distinct identity behind Idylls Of The Last King remains preserved somehow. The result is a neoclassical symphony to be cherished…
https://idyllsofthelastking.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-gardens-of-our-forefathers
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-0
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-1
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-2
https://www.concreteweb.be/reviews/idylls-last-king-anglachel