So far this month has been a phenomenal wave of discovery in terms of uninhibited, unexpected and fascinating creativity. However, I feel that parts of the precipice of that wave are still yet to be celebrated.
Composer Matthew Durrant’s sensational new concept album The Cycle Of The Universe is a massive part of the creative freedom of this season. It offers a project that was thoughtfully and artistically developed over 27 years, and it blends the powerful escapism of orchestral music and conceptual vastness, with progressive rock and electronic qualities that keep things eclectic and expressive.
The Cycle Of The Universe is an ambient, atmospheric spoken-word listen, which is all-consuming from start to finish. The Album’s journey is to tell the story of the universe’s endless cycle of creation, evolution, collapse, and rebirth. The project is narrated by a very distinct British voice – actor Paterson Joseph – and it’s intention is to provide a cinematic experience that’s one whole venture; not a standard track by track album.
From the outset we’re consumed by three tracks that wholly envelop us. The Eternal Overture, A Great Ignition in the Sky, and finally, The Unstoppable Fight. These compositions lead us through neo-classical strings, synths, spoken suggestions, towards a fully euphoric EDM encounter that is the intoxicating third track.
This same energy and distorted symphonic darkness returns later for the gripping audio escapism of Prima Solaris. The stars align, the stars cascade and collide, and the stars captivate and create a beautiful chaos all around you, as The Cycle of The Universe continues.
Separated in theory into individual tracks, The Cycle of The Universe is conceptually guidance-driven in terms of the scenes and images presented by the likes of Separation of Light and Dark Matter, but there’s much to be said about both the delicacy and powerful nuance of the musical factors. Whether piano melodies hint at melancholy then optimism, or euphoric layers of synths and pulsating house rhythms uplift and energise, we’re at one with this story of time, as it unavoidably includes and exists amidst all of us.
Despite the unsettling depth and darkness of many of these chapters, the voice of Paterson Joseph is comforting throughout – Variations on a Theme a brilliant burst of creativity, capturing the essence of time and movement, but that voice still calming, serene and supportive, in its quiet tone and historical contemplations.
To be experienced in full, this concept album flows beautifully as one complete cinematic listen. However, certain tracks do mark evocative highlights if you merely want examples. Peace in our Time is a unique blend of surface level instruments and deeper, sweeping layers, a progressive rock nostalgia ensuing to support the emotional implications that introduce it. And the ecstatic pace and distortion of The Return afterwards is brilliantly intoxicating, the atmospheric intensity and poetry of March to War enveloping, thanks to careful design and purposeful, thematic arranging.
Finally, an epic composition emerges for the penultimate power of The Symphony of Annihilation – an addictive highlight that warrants its own sit-down session at full volume for the weight of creative escapism and mortality combined. And Adagio for a Dying Light seems incredibly beautiful, poignant and conclusive, in bringing that energy and tempo to an intimate, acoustic and soothing end.
It’s clear that Matthew Durrant’s musical ability is matched by his consideration and understanding of the topic at hand. The adagio is perfectly placed, perfectly captured, and the album in full – particularly when listened to for the second time – takes you on an unignorably historical journey that’s both heart-breaking and euphoric in equal parts.
There’s something oddly comforting about the cycle, the repeating loops of existence, that takes away the pain of personal struggle and social concern for a while. The vastness of The Cycle of The Universe is confronting and comforting all at once, and it’s awakening to listen to and ponder about.
Listen to The Cycle of the Universe on Apple Music.
