Uniquely ambient production kept simple in style and name yet presented with a complexity of feelings and space – within which the mind can truly wander or calm completely, depending on what it needs.
The producer is Bucko. The project is 01, a six-track EP guided by a wash of synths and a select few piano chords, reverb-kissed and emotive, taking their time to embrace listeners in a powerfully immersive, increasingly uplifting way. All of this is Clouded, a stunning opener for the collection.
These are ambient house compositions at their core, but there’s a musicality to Bucko’s style that proves melodic and memorable for its purity and passion alongside of the well-crafted, rhythmic dance elements.
The way the music evolves is superb, from simple whispers to the full throttle bass warmth and pulse of the later stages. All the while the piano plays, the day continues to cloud over and change; the story progresses.
Changes follows and is easily the heaviest and most energising track on the project. Eighties style sci-fi-esque synth bass work echoes alongside of a relentless beat and dashes of equally retro synths on the lower layers. An increasingly euphoric journey, with a stunning latter half that allows you to escape entirely inside of it.
There are several traits of identity to this project, but there’s also an impressive level of creative eclecticism. It can be background music, sure, but it can also deeply affect the mood and movement of your day – the long commute, the warm up, the wind down, the prep.
Consider the house rhythm and surrounding delicacy, along with a subtle touch of angelic voice from NIIO on a spacious and heart-felt So Far Away. Not to be rushed or skipped through, but taken on in full, experienced as it was designed – a journey through the stages, a growing emotional ache that sees its latter half venture out into epic realms of faster-paced ambient house music.
Amsterdam gently injects a warmer melodic synth melody to lighten the mood and create a sense of joy, right before Lost falls back to the pure live sound of piano, complete with the thud of the weighted keys, echoing through the room. Lexi Byrne later offers a few layers of breathy voice to help the story settle in and to add an element of rising anticipation before the final rhythm steals us away.
Mista Sizm helps make a hypnotically cinematic, natural world style Evolve bring the EP to a captivating finish.
Sensational music, in short – intricate and thoughtful, purposeful and of value in being so – delivering a series of audio experiences that extend much further than the simple realm of music. An absolute must for those looking to switch off from the weight and chaos of the world.
Download or stream the project here. Check out Bucko on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
