If I know Oren Ambarchi like I think I do (which is not at all), I imagine he is pretty protective of his work. Protective in the sense that his duo project with Chris Townend, called Sun, is quite a change from his personal material and could probably be perceived as an extremely bare exposure of his personality. While Chris Townend may be a celebrated artist in his own rights, Ambarchi has become highly recognizable as one of the world’s most celebrated guitar-drone artists, and his guitar style isn’t even remotely similar to his work on this album.
Sun, as an album, may appear to be “sunny” sounding on the surface. However, the truth is that, tonally, it’s an extremely detached album. I’d also be lying if I didn’t tell you that it was pretty hard for me to get past the fact that this is a project that contains Oren Ambarchi. When I initially went in to the album, I was hoping for a lot more experimentation than I received. From opening to closing note, I was lulled into a melancholic daydream that made me feel quite empty inside. One could argue by saying “hey idiot, this is not supposed to sound like Ambarchi’s solo material; that’s the point.” I understand this.
There’s a heavy influence of sixties pop on Sun.The acoustic guitar is soothing and precise. The drums are gentle and the vocals are dreamlike and hypnotic. All of these items come together nicely to form a fairly enjoyable experience. However, I can’t help but picture Ambarchi and Townend staring off into the distance without a single expression on their face while performing these songs. They just sort of have that daydream-type effect on me that I can’t seem to get away from.
While I’d say that I’m mostly not drawn to these songs, the good news is that there is a second disc that contains remixes (in order) of all the songs on the album. Some of the artists that appear are Pimmon, Rafael Toral, Hrvatski, and Nobert Moslang. This is where the album begins to liven up and become more deliberate than the songs on the first disc. I’d say if it weren’t for the bonus disc of remixes, Sun would be a pretty forgettable experience by itself.
Disc 1
1. Make It
2. Reach for the Sky
3. Leave it On It's Own
4. Moon
5. Letter to an Old Dog
6. Sleepin'
7. I Don't Mind
8. It's Not Real
Disc 2
1. Make It [Mapstation Remix]
2. Reach for the Sky [Pluramon Remix]
3. Leave it On It's Own [Pimmon Remix]
4. Moon [Tom Recchion Remix]
5. Letter to an Old Dog [Rafael Toral Remix]
6. Sleepin' [Hrvatski Remix]
7. I Don't Mind [Norbert Moslang]
8. It's Not Real [Reactionary Remix]
More about: Sun
