Seven years after the release of Brian Eno’s last solo effort, Another Day on Earth, fans will finally be rewarded for their patience with his latest release. The king of ambience’s most recent project, named Lux, is a 75 minute long composition inspired by an art installation at the Great Gallery of the Palace of Venaria in Turin, Italy.
Eno is known for being groundbreaking in the world of music; another of his solo ventures, Thursday Afternoon, was the first to be specifically crafted for CD and was an hour long. To be able to listen to it in full without having to flip a tape over was a crucial feature to absorb the full ambience of the piece according to its composer. It is clear to see that Eno still has this continuous, flowing mindset when composing his material as, although Lux is split into 4 tracks, it is hard to tell when one ends and the next begins.
The signature random piano notes and sprinkling of simple snyth melodies are back in full force from the outset, setting you up for a continuous stream of chilled out vibes. With the second track, Lux 2, shifting the focus to more ominous undertones, it would make perfect sense for this album to be the soundtrack to a film (suggesting that Eno is reverting back to his earlier works) or even a television drama like those on ITV.
The album as a whole shows Eno doing what he does best: creating atmosphere. By having what could be construed as “empty space” and a lack of specific direction, Lux allows the listener to create their own meaning which is something Eno’s fanbase (the deep thinkers and creatives among us) highly value.
Unless you’re a die hard Eno fan with a huge passion for what he does, I wouldn’t recommend giving this album 75 minutes of your undivided attention. It’s probably best played as background noise whilst reading, staring out of the window on a train or possibly even napping.
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