Mark Pritchard-The four worlds

Mark Pritchard opens his album “The four worlds” with “Glass Pops”. With a four to the floor drum beat and mix of world and electronic percussion It could easily convince the listener that they were in for a traditional dance record. But just as you’d think it’s going to get in full swing, the track holds off. The progressive driving bass line drives itself into an open space and as the sequence repeats a sinister sense creeps in. A sound that is continued throughout the album.

The development of the first track works well on its own as a set up for the album but incredibly well in a playlist of other electronic music. Whether or not it was Mark Pritchard’s intention, in the streaming world “Glass Pops” is a great way to cleanse the listeners expectations and then tune them to the sound on the rest of the album.

It’s this albums sound that makes it into my end of year list. Subtle verging on ambient, each track shuns the maximalist approach of most dance for a more restrained mood.

It’s a mood that is unique to this album. You feel like a passive observer, slightly disconnected as you drift from track to track. The aim of ambient music was always supposed to be a passive experience; music your consciousness could drift into and out of as it played. “The four worlds” achieves this with more instrumentation than usual for the genre. It even manages to add vocals/spoken word elements to some of the tracks and still keep the feeling of ambient music, which is no mean feat.

On its conclusion, the title track “the four worlds” (which could easily accompany a horror film) leaves you feeling slightly on edge. Although disconnected from the experience, your still invested in the albums emotional journey from shade into the light and back again. Each track, with plenty of space in it’s instrumentation, builds an atmosphere that makes the complete work greater than the sum of its parts.