»Excuse me? Great times? Does that mean the present?« Well, you could answer that it all depends on who is experiencing it, where and how. Maybe Brooklyn producer Raffaele Martirani alias Panoram meant it ironically. On what is now his seventh album since 2014, he creates things that you can really enjoy for three-quarters of an hour. His miniatures are often less than three minutes long and could be described as ambient collages. They always have something unexpected happening in a very peaceful way, and the sounds take on the most diverse forms with him.
He likes to use digital versions of acoustic instruments that make strange connections with synthesizer surfaces or artificial voices, or he sometimes layers clattering patterns of presumably alienated piano tones into fragile mobiles. No matter what sounds he uses, there’s something radiant and unshakably calm about his pieces. It’s not typical feel-good music, but it can definitely be described as optimistic. And while the line between unremarkable and boring music can be quite thin, Panoram’s unremarkableness is part of what makes them so appealing. It manages to be both familiar and strange, allowing you to get lost in »Great Times« without it feeling like escapism.
Great Times
