![]() ![]() ![]() Low, held bass notes and subtle clarinet work add to this sleepy, mellow track. A short track at just over two minutes, the crackling sonar that comes in towards the end is a nice touch – even if for a second I did think my record player was on the blink!īy the Wall – Another achingly melancholic track with a focus on gentle atmosphere, piano and chiming notes drop in and out over echoing electronic notes, like an extremely distant mechanical whale singing through the fog. The first time on the album that there’s a sense of ominousness, all is not well. The Mezzanine – A change of pace here as we return to a more atmospheric sensibility. ![]() If this album were to release a single, this would be it. The keyboard and bass jams here are what can only be described as trouser removers. Nanorobot Tune – Straight into another favourite of mine, this continues the radio tuning effect but is tied to a seriously funky beat. There’s melancholic use of a synthetic vocal that adds poignancy before a piano and clarinet duet towards the end of the song. The Sea – This opens in an extremely pretty way, like someone seeing a beautiful, alien landscape for the first time, synths galore! Very much a mood piece, whilst scattered drums played with brushes enter the track at a later point, along with a beautiful, shimmering keyboard riff - this is pure atmosphere.Ĭlockwise Operetta – A favourite of mine, I love the radio tuning used as ambience over the ‘electronic glockenspiel’ styled tone that bubbles through the track. At five and a half minutes, it’s a great atmospheric track and perfect scene-setter for the album. It feels expressive and difficult to pin down due to its momentum and, whilst listening I had the sensation of descending into a different world. Simple, almost hand-played drums here, synthetic steam release noises there, they all weave together without overwhelming each other. The Bottom – A mellow opener, this has eastern inflexions and singular, punchy bass notes over which keys and punctuations of various effects wander. It dawned on me that there was an over-riding connection on general style but the epic vegetation of Samarost the dusty, antique, kooky Creaks and the rusted, riveted and archaic robots that makeup Machinarium all feel distinct in their worlds and, having listed to the Creaks vinyl for dozens of hours, it was really interesting to see how Floex (Tomas Dvorak, clarinet on the Creaks soundtrack) approached the music of Machinarium in a way that reflects the world in which it is set, using radio static, discordant chimes and percussion whilst also maintaining a melodic sensibility and deftness of touch. Presented on a perfectly-pressed 180g grey ‘oil-slick' vinyl, as with Creaks, Machinarium comes with some beautiful art cards that, if you’ve played the game are very evocative but also provide a mental landscape for newcomers who have picked up the record without any prior knowledge of the game.īefore we go into the track-by-track breakdown, I just wanted to share a thought that hit me as I was conversing with the man behind the stunning artwork for Creaks – Radim Jurda – who mentioned that Amanita has three separate teams on the go at any one time, focusing on different titles. The six tracks that makeup side A are around the 24-minute mark with side B racking up a whopping 25 minutes. The first thing that struck me is that this is a long album in terms of a vinyl release. The rear depicts one of my favourite scenes from the game – fittingly, an in-game robot band – with the tracklisting and credits below. It is beautifully rendered on a glossy cover with that familiar scribbled font at the bottom. The cover art depicts the protagonist and some other characters from the game on a scrap heap outside of the city in which Machinarium takes place. ![]()
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