INFINITE SCALE
Ad Infinitum
RN020
Rednetic Recordings 2009
09 Tracks. 46mins37secs

In the twelve years since the publication of his debut EP, Infinite Scale’s Harmi Palda has been pretty frugal with releases under this particular guise, only issuing a trickle of tracks on EPs and compilations through imprints such as Toytronic, Boltfish or Rednetic. Drawing on a tradition of warm, lush and rich electronica, his work has regularly crossed to live, with, notably, performances at Glastonbury and Bestival under his belt.

On his debut album, Palda develops further his particular blend of electronic music, using beautifully polished and gentle soundscapes and bending them into remarkably effective melodies. Never one to unnecessarily expand or overcomplicate, Palda focuses here on rather short and concise pieces to build a rather evocative narrative, which, while close to the essence of the labels he’s been published on, retains an identity all of its own. Right from the onset of the dreamy Cells, which opens, right through to the closing Liquid Stock, Palda’s intensely fluid and elegant soundscapes, propelled by crisp beats and glitches and occasional infra-bass pulses, shimmer into continuously morphing tones, at times developing into a light and airy piece, at other turning into dense arabesques or exploding into countless minute particles. There is however a great consistency of sound throughout. Indeed, Palda’s trademark sound is the binding force behind this album, feeding into the deepest corners and clearly defining each new level of his compositions.

Whether thought the swelling melodies of Cells, Quibtone Frame, Step Above The Surface or Decisions Of Despair or through the more gentle and introspective plateaux of Slow Down or Landscape, Palda works from the same mould, affecting the final products with almost imperceptible touches, sometimes influencing the tone by bringing the beat to the fore (Behind The Scene), switching direction half way through (Knock Twice), or playing on the opacity of his sonic structure (Step Above The Surface).

Of course, the field of gentle melodic electronica occupied by Infinite Scale is a pretty packed and, all too often, formulaic one. But, far from contenting himself with aimlessly reproducing textures and ambiences with no personal investment, Harmi Palda pushes, with Ad Infinitum, further into territories which he occupies and controls pretty much on his own.

4.3/5

Infinite Scale | Rednetic Recordings