New Max Richter

New Max Richter

Max Richter will be releasing an album of new material this summer called Infra. From his website:

Max's new record on FatCat will be released on July 22nd. Based on his collaboration with Wayne Macgregor and Julian Opie for The Royal Ballet last year, the record expands on and develops the original material, reconfiguring it as an immersive listening experience in it's own right.

I don't really know what that means, but I do now that Mr. Richter is a fantastic and accomplished composer who never fails to produce compelling, beautiful, and endlessly accessible (though not watered down) classical pieces.

His magnum opus, Blue Notebooks, delicately blended dark elongated melodic lines with electronics and spoken word poetry. In 2008 he released an album of ringtones, which is so...snobby, but he pulled it off despite. You may also have heard his work in the fantastic animated documentary Waltz With Bashir, which I blogged about last year.

With Infra, Richter is in his comfortable form. The songs are contemplative and intimate; piano lines roll over in dark repetitive scales. The electronics are subtle as usual and lend a soft rhythm to the songs that propel them forward. It's not driving music per se, but certainly bus-riding music. And if you're anything like me, you may experience hallucinations of post-war eastern Europe. But thats okay, because thats what you want from Richter, and he delivers.

Max Richter :: Infra 3

Pre-order Infra HERE