Matthew Laming - To Find Home (A Distant Call)

Hear The Track Here

Another review request from the Rebel Riffs blog, this time we are visited from the Emerald Isle in the person of Matthew Laming who makes 'New Trance /Healing & EasyListening / Ambient / Experimental music' Let's hope that he doesn't make it all at once eh? Now lots of things in that little list gives me twinges, as you well know, but hey I can stand it. Matthew is a brand new name to me and - as such - I'm not likely to cut up rough the first time out - unless the material absolutely demands it anyway. I do believe in giving people a fair crack of the whip, and I don't think you can do that by listening to just one track.

There again, this is like listening to several tracks in one way.

Two things struck me the first time I played this track: 1) how come the weather outside my window suddenly transferred to the inside of my head and; 2) this is a L-O-N-G track. Topping out at a whisker or six over ten minutes long, To Find Home (A Distant Call), is probably not for the average drive-by listener, they'd still be in the storm a minute or so in and I can't see them being entranced by that. The track itself starts off slowly around the two minute mark with a string melody that is achingly familiar to me but I can't track it down. It isn't until around three and a half minutes before the track picks up the pace and turns into a fairly standard trance dance-athon.

So although this track strays into at least three problem areas for me (trance, ambient and easy listening) the performance and production kept me listening even after the beats had worn grooves into my patience. Personally I think if you like any of the three genres mentioned, you would find much to like in this track. Yeah but would you give it ten whole minutes? Well, I did, and several times at that and I don't particularly like any of the genres. I do recognise a good piece of work though, and Matthew Laming does much to make those ten minutes pass by quite quickly - at least for a philistine like me. Adventurous blend of styles.

Recommended (if you like the genre(s)) - and have the time.