Robert Scott Thompson is an American composer of instrumental electroacoustic music who has been delivering beautiful ambient productions for over forty years. Thompson is also Professor Emeritus of music composition and owner of the Aucourant Records label. Releases in at least six genres including: electronic, experimental pop, modern classical, new age, minimalism, and avant-garde. On Escapology released on the Somewherecold Records label, Thompson redefines his orientation to the ambient music genre.
Thompson, like many other ambient artists, was strongly influenced by Brian Eno, the pioneer and master of the genre. In his experimental and computer-controlled music, the American constructs colorful ambient soundscapes with mystical atmospheres and twists. Escapology was composed under the constraints of freedom and social isolation by the still un-tamable pandemic. The soundscapes express a cosmic rarefiedness and transport the listener to a utopian world of sound. The sonic waves are intertwined with abstract ideas that develop a strong escape force. The title of this release says it all.
The high quality of the dreamlike soundscapes on Escapology remains nicely constant and varied. Thompson uses analog and digital synthesizers that he combines with sound designs created using software synthesis techniques. The breathtaking soundscapes are accompanied by bundles of ambient sounds that travel like comets between the cosmic resonances. Thompson approaches a perfect balance between the sounds, the (ethereal) atmospheres and the emotions on this beautiful album.
Escapology is an (ambient) route description for those who wish to escape from isolation and muse away from loneliness. Headphones are recommended when listening to enjoy this escape to the fullest. This top ambient work is available digitally and on a limited edition CD through Robert Scott Thompson’s Bandcamp page.
~ Patsker Omaer Beguin
The long time master of mood and sonic landscapes has released his first album on Somewherecold Records. Robert Scott Thompson: Escapology is a beautifully composed abstract rendering composed during 2020. With the tense world in the background and uncertainty in the air, Thompson grabs them and sculpts them into exquisite sonic time capsules. Both dark and light play off one another as the tension between the unknown and hope wrestle for everyone’s attention. Escapology is an album deep with textures and full of possible meaning and, hopefully, healing moments for the listener.
~ JL at SWC
