Markus Mehr 'Lava' – The Silent Ballet

Excerpt: “Ambient music is difficult to define, because the word “ambient” works better as an adjective than as a noun.  So many sub-genres are funneled into the ambient field as to dilute its meaning.  At its worst, ambient music is confused with new age, and regarded as background music for elevators and spas.  In its vast middle ground, ambient music is associated with memory, nostalgia and sepia-tinged photographs.  The best ambient music begs for – and deserves – better descriptors than these…. Germany’s Markus Mehr makes music in the Stars of the Lid tradition: a studied, slow-moving ambience, with deliberate sound placement leading to a natural evolution.  Often his songs blossom halfway through as wider swaths of tones are introduced; the volume rises, and listeners sit up and take notice.  At times, his grainy textures call to mind the instrumental recordings of Belong and 36.”

The Silent Ballet