Primeiro — Music for Horses I & II

Quickly moving like the titular beasts, Music for Horses gallops forth from the start, dancing on arpeggios and rhythms that are bright, boisterous, and propulsive. The energy contained on the album is contagious and begins to ooze out as soon as the needle drops. Light, airy arpeggios are the workhorse of the album (pun intended) and their freshness manages to keep their continued use from getting tired or trite. As stated, "Primeiro is a big fan of floating arpeggios and meticulously repetitive sequences," and they're in abundance on Music for Horses. Achieving the floating feeling is done in a really smart way: instead of adding elements to give the space between, Primeiro works over blank space and allows the music to float all on its own. While the work is far from minimal, there is certainly a feeling that something isn't there/isn't being played, which creates the openness on the album. Be it the clean air between the notes or the round feeling that is present, each layer manages to be distinct and work in tandem with its neighbors to move and grow, each playing off the other and moving upward and forward. It's hard to describe an active and vibrant album as having "space," but Primeiro manages to create a sonic atmosphere that both is and isn't. This continues on with the B side, the four previously released Music for Horses tracks. However, the earlier tracks have more of a warbling element that adds the essence of breeze, like a flag in the wind. Although released last year, these four tracks are given a breath of fresh air (pun intended) with their new context alongside the three new movements.

 

Airy and engaging, Primeiro's Music for Horses I & II takes the listener on a wonderful ride through the skies on the backs of horses beyond our realm. Beautifully arranged, the music is more than a sum of its parts, with the hidden negative space adding a big impact to the sound and scope. Bright and moving, Music feels every bit a summer release, but one could easily see the high-flying arpeggios bouncing just as well against a sunlit, snowy field. For more