Plaza Mayor Company Ltd release Maximilien Mathevon's latest album of electronic music, Mountains, a love letter from the composer to past artists who have influenced him including Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and Mike Oldfield...

Covid-19 and the global lockdown has been a truly challenging time for so many people, but if there's one glimmer of hope; one silver lining to be taken from such an awful situation, it's that we've all been able to reevaluate things that are important in our lives and artists have been able to pour their time and efforts into creating new works of art.

Maximilien Mathevon, a composer whose work I have loved for quite some time, releases one of his most impressive albums to date. The genesis of Mountains emerged a year ago during the second Covid lockdown in France. All Mathevon dreamed of was vast spaces, nature and freedom.

"This is my electronic musical vision of mountains, between contemplation, excitement and reverence. It is once again an opportunity for me to pay a tribute to the fantastic artists who always influenced me: Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, and also Mike Oldfield. I chose to work on long pieces where I could develop my different themes, make them grow, interweave them. This is a format that I particularly appreciate. The idea is also to use '80s synth tones and style that I like and inspire me, and to mix more traditional instruments like guitar, piano, cello".

It really is a beautiful album with more rich themes than you might expect. I did get a vibe of Vangelis and Jean-Michel Jarre as I was listening to this... but, and please stay with me on this. As much of a fan as I am of Vangelis and Jarre, in their whole body of work their pieces are very hit and miss. What Mathevon delivers here is a string of memorable and beautiful pieces. If this doesn't take you on an emotional journey then you've probably already lost your soul.

It's timeless and incredibly melodic. This is one you'll come back to time and time again.

10

Darren Rea