Close, Anderson & Hontos | BELLS
Andre
If you know me, you know I am a sucker for slow ambient music that just perfectly blends into the annals of your mind without consuming it. BELLS is a 38 minute journey into sounds familiar and nostalgic, and sounds foreign and exotic. The track begins with familiar tranquil sounds such as wind chimes, xylophone, and other nostalgic bells of your youth, well at least mine. Throughout the 38 minutes instruments, sounds, chants, and electronic beats keep compounding making the track more and more complicated, but not enough to overwhelm the listener. I really do love this track, all 38 minutes of it.
Sean
Take a stroll through a forest of deep reverberating wind chimes. Ah, Close, Anderson & Hontos, this duo knows hot to put your mind at ease. Through this forty minute track motifs begin to emerge and subside each introducing new and wild textures. It is in its unpredictability, and subtle constantly transforming nature that this release really shines. I would recommend this release to anyone with a passing interest in ambient music. That being said I would also recommend it to anyone who has not been exposed to ambient music. The easy going nature makes it approachable to someone not familiar with the genre.
Greg
I was truly transported into a zenlike state throughout CAH’s 38-minute chime-infused ambient beast. I find music like this to be purely situational, and during the current chaotic state of the world- BELLS might be just what you need for balance.
Dillon
“Bells” from ambient duo Chris Hontos and Aaron Anderson strikes a wonderful and rarely heard balance in this genre of music. My experience with introducing folks to genres like ambient, drone, and noise has been, too often, they find the music to either over or under deliver on its premise. You’ll have tracks that too easily melt into the background of whatever else is going on around you, that lack texture or ways to grab and keep your interest. Or, you’ll have a track so worried about losing your interest it jams itself full of gimmicky motifs to keep your attention, which tends toward an unintentional abrasiveness. “Bells” finds this perfectly zen-like balance, the track is never obtrusive but always noticeable, always doing something interesting. Hontos and Anderson consistently introduce new sounds and motifs that are really seamlessly integrated into the track in a way that builds flow and focus. If you’re looking for a good meditative backing track or have had an interest in ambient or noise and have been turned off by abrasive or boring tracks in the past give this a listen, I promise it won’t disappoint.
Mary
True to its Bandcamp description, “Something to knock the edge off, when you're reading something you've written before”, I was able to do just that! In fact, the album sprinkles a little bit of magic and nuance to my headspace as I edited. Rather than stranding me inside my head as I struggle to summon the willpower to work, this is the lovely companion giving me the zen I’ve been waiting for.