Nightfall Sunshine

by François CoutureDarren Tate (of ORA) and Colin Potter (Nurse With Wound affiliate and of ORA too) have created a beautiful album of understated music. The title Nightfall Sunshine translates surprisingly well the feelings of strange serenity washing through the listener. Tate has provided field recordings that Potter electronically processed in the studio, the pair adding what appears to be analog electronics along the way. Each of the five pieces provides an ambient soundscape of nature sounds, processed drones, background textures, and light, tasteful synthesizer accompaniment. This is dreaming wide awake in the post-industrial world. The pair has achieved a high level of aesthetic beauty -- almost plastic -- without turning the music into something formalist, cold, or clichéd. "In the Wood" amalgamates the sounds of a water stream, a rising shroud of electrical textures, and almost unnoticeable synth notes to create a compelling piece. The closing "Sunrise," with its bird songs and fragile electric piano motif, may be just a bit too new age for its own good, but it finds its place in the context of the album. Nightfall Sunshine sure sounds less experimental or challenging than most productions released by the German label Die Stadt, but the obvious care and love that were put into it make it a rewarding listen.