Steven Hess and Rutger Zuydervelt — Re:construct

A certain temperament is all that separates a truly compelling ambient work from one that is anything but. There is no formula, sadly; you know it once you’ve found it. Maintaining a particular mood over the course of an album is even more remarkable when the work in question is the result of pieces sent between collaborators, with little physical time spent with one another in the studio.

Re:construct is the second album by Steven Hess and Rutger Zuydervelt, and their first in a decade. Hess prepared the basic phonemes of their shared language, and Zuydervelt combined those elements into a smooth, minimalist grammar. Overall, the aesthetic of Re:construct is unhurried and understated, moving through each of the eleven tracks with great precision and pitch-perfect timing.

The mood is decidedly nocturnal, though never ominous or frightening. On “Soon”, a light drone is chopped up by a gentle tremolo effect, creating the sense of flying over a sleepy cityscape. “Bell” is another standout, with the titular instrument clanging discordantly. The final cut, “Away”, recalls the best parts of Flying Saucer Attack or Tarentel and continues the carefully constructed movement of the whole while bidding farewell to the night sky. As the artists insist, there is an openness toward a future free of clear delineations or battle lines.

I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t find something edifying on Re:construct. That is already a pretty good omen for what’s to come.