JOHN FOxx, HAROLD BUDD & RUBEN GARCIA

Translucence/Drift Music/ Nighthawks 7/10, 8/10, 7/10 Instrumental abstractions from Anglo-America

Initially released in 2003, Translucence/Drift Music was the product of sessions between Foxx and Budd seven years earlier, the pair drawn together by a shared passion for minimalism. Cue stately echoes of Budd’s work with Brian Eno in the ’80s (namely Ambient 2: The Plateaux Of Mirror and The Pearl), his trademark ‘soft pedal’ piano subject to subtle reverb and Foxx’s discreet synth moods. These formless compositions take on delicate inflections and shifts in tone, from sombre to soothing, made all the more affecting by their sheer simplicity. Meanwhile, the song titles – “Spoken Roses”, “Curtains Blowing”, “Raindust” – offer visual prompts for the imagination. Drift Music is the more synth-centric of the two, though the transition is seamless. Both men hooked up with New York composer Ruben Garcia for 2011’s Nighthawks, which follows a similarly ethereal pattern. The ghostly undertow of “Fugitive Desire” and “The Shadow Of Her Former Self”, the latter ending with

a brief series of low rattles, brings an added sense of foreboding to the suite, juxtaposed by the almost breezy “When The City Stops For Snow”. All three make their debut here on vinyl, serving as a lasting tribute to Garcia, who has since passed away.

Extras: None.