Alex Paxton – Delicious (New Amsterdam Records) – It is, to make an off the cuff observation, rather like if all the small birds were to form an orchestra, and yes, that sounds like a frivolous throwaway thing to say and that is the last thing this is. Some of it sounds like the glorious parades of early days Efterklang before they they reigned it all in but then this sounds like an orchestra, this is orchestral, this is classical. I almost want to say this is a very modern orchestral thing, but no, this sound timeless in a very very different way. It could just as easily be some lost avant garde treasure from the 1920s as it could be something from 2043, it is very light and playful in a very contemporary way, Olivier Messiaen more that Disney’s Fantasia or even Steamboat Willie or Carl Stalling. It is surely a cliché to call it innocent? it is a delight though, it is delicious. Delicious is delicious, Delicious is joyous (these small snippets of of pieces will give you a clue, the piece are far longer though, these videos are but little teasing tastes)

“Delicious is a joyous and satiating sonic experience from start to finish, set within a utopian ambient landscape, orchestrated like a symphony and decorated with a.s.m.r. inflections. The music unfolds organically, giving a sense of improvised structure, yet every detail is meticulously composed for maximum listening sensation. Like a flock of birds able to shift on a wing’s beat, Paxton finds the perfect pacing between these episodic dreamscapes. Momentum is key to this music. Each piece, section, or episode has a trajectory that feels surprising, yet inevitable upon arrival…”      

And it is delicious to listen to, experimental yes, avant garde yes, very different, brilliantly so, it is about melody though, if easy to hang on and go with, it is a delight spend time with. And as someone else said, the common thread in Alex Paxton’s musical language is indeed melody. 

“I start composing by following a feeling. Melody is the core of my musical language and the first thing I write. For me, tunes are the most tentacular of music languages able to reach all kinds of alcoves, juices and specialities of our existing. The harmony of a piece is always looking for the maximum pleasure and everything left to do I call “orchestrating’. Here I am constantly imagining to experience the music through the whole body, from large gradations you can feel in your navel to tiny nuances of sensual experience like rain on the back of your ears, or a funny smell.”

This smells delicious, it tastes divine, it sounds just right. It is one of the musical delights of the year so far, this is happy music, this actually feels like happy music… (sw)

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