Aglaia

Aglaia - named after one of the Greek ‘graces’ that tends to earthly vegetation - is a brand-new name to me, though they already have a couple of albums under their belt and available from the same label. It is comprised of Fioravanti Gino and Gianluigi Toso, who are responsible for "concept and sound programming on Roland jd 800" and "editing, treatments and loops programming", respectively. I hardly know what that means and/or does. However, I do know beautifully-executed ambient music when I hear it, and this is it. A long suite of three gorgeous pieces, each roughly twenty minutes long and all entirely lacking any gravitational pull. Each seems like the ambient version of an Indian raga for specific times of the day and states of mind. “Mercurius Volatile”, despite its title, is serenity itself, glimmers of dawning stars on droplets of water on distant planets. Its ethereal nature is succeeded by the somehow more earthen “Nigredo”, with its wisps of flute appearing and then disappearing amongst the flora of the enchanted forest of some midsummer night´s dream. Finally, “Shanti Mudra” makes the Subcontinental connection explicit both in title and lazily-bowed Indian strings, insinuating themselves into a placid atmosphere of morning mist rising off a broad but quietly flowing river. A lovely work.