Near the Parenthesis follows up 2007's "Of Soft Construction" with "L'Eixample," Tim Arndt's most focused work to date. L'Eixample draws on inspiration gained during travels through Barcelona, Spain. Of particular interest was the innovative and sometimes peculiar modernist architecture of the L'Eixample district. In Catalunyan, L'Eixample literally means an extension, a strong symbolic parallel to the music found on Arndt's latest work which itself reflects an extension of the Near the Parenthesis' sound. While this collection begins where "Of Soft Construction" left off, it quickly migrates to an even calmer and more atmospheric experience. Through L'Eixample, Arndt has moved closer to an an emotional apex and provides even greater melodic rewards.

cyclic defrost

Unlike several electronic artists who happen to be blessed with prolificacy, Tim Arndt continually delivers incredibly polished and lush material on his instrumental releases as Near The Parenthesis. The majority of his previous work has been met with extensive critical acclaim and for good reason – it’s delicate, instrumental electronica interspersed with an incisive and thought-provoking approach that is as easy to listen to in the background as in the foreground.

L’Eixample is no different to his previous work in this respect. It’s self-assured and confident, without being brash. Taking inspiration from his travels through Barcelona and the modernist architecture around the L’Eixample district, the album is distinctly grounded by these experiences but never restrained by them.

Echoes of Seekae are littered throughout, and Ulrich Schnauss also gets a look in with the dreamy atmospherics and shoegaze remnants that make up a fair amount of the album. However, Arndt has a voice all his own as he marries synthetic elements with acoustic instrumentation. He has such a way with melody that the two are never really distinguished as separate entities, which is a stunning achievement.

The emotional connection to the music is undeniable, particularly on tracks such as ‘A Brief Walk In The Sea’ which relies on a tacit collection of scratchings, squeaks and synths to conjure up the images that the title suggests. The intermittent scuttle of ‘Modernisme’ lapses into an effortless, languid melody while the divine moments on ‘Cerda’s Plan’ with piano and drum machine matched beat for beat provide lovely jump-out moments that Arndt may explore on future releases. L’Eixample is a release that will slip under the radar for many, but for those in the know it will sure to be one of the highlights of Arndt’s back catalogue, and a strong contender for one of the loveliest releases of 2008. resident advisor

Near the Parenthesis' third full-length has dragged me deep into the conundrum of interpretation. You see, much of this review is unavoidably influenced by title conditioning—the infiltration of the subconscious by the record's track names. Prior knowledge of "A Brief Walk in the Sea," for example, gestured towards a rather literal interpretation. Subsequently, the softly repeating chimes which initially drew the ear were like smears of refracted light, highlighting the surface of the waves. As the understated beats emerged from the mix, it felt as though they represented a swell of current, pulling the observer's gaze below the surface; down to a swirling, cycling mass of looping glitches and clicks manifesting as the surrounding water.

As with Mountains or Epic45, whose minimalist-shoegaze approach to ambient electronica shares much in common with Near the Parenthesis, there's refreshingly little to latch on to besides the music itself. No ostentatious frontman, no lyrics, no narrative other than the self-imposed and few other factors to colour the process besides artwork and a tracklist. These, though, are enough to have an influence. And it led me to wonder, rather obsessively as it turns out, what effect a totally "clean" listen would have on an individual.

When hearing the fluctuating, low-pitched tones that open "Cerda's Plan," would they too see an elongating corridor; a nervous, seated man lightly drumming his fingers as the same tones shorten and diverge into insistent patterns; muffled voices from behind a nearby door, crackling and surging into washes of distortion as their discussions reach a volatile stage? As L'Eixample is partially driven and inspired by the architectural history of Barcelona, it should be no surprise that constructed spaces arise in the imagination. But such information also has an effect. It may be Tim Arndt's intention to use "Guell" as an expression of the remarkable hues, textures and curves of Gaudi's famous park through shimmering mosaics of mechanical trills and ever-prominent piano melody. Yet would this connection have been made without guidance? To what extent does it even matter?

Background detail and textual signifiers can bring a deeper, satisfying understanding of creative intent, but at the same time they risk denying the listener the unique, potentially richer, experience of a stimulus-free hearing. To that end, this review itself is a problem. Sorry about that. My suggestion is this: acquire the album, remove it from all the packaging and set it aside. Forget everything you just read. Then listen afresh to an ambient triumph. de-bug

Das nenne ich ein perfektes Album. Tim Arndt aus San Francisco ist so verliebt in den großen Pop zwischen den kleinen Tönen, dass man wie gebannt zuhört. Mit verbundenen Augen rückwärts watet er durch oldschoolige Elektronika-Anleihen, geflüsterte Versprechungen und angedeutete Weite, in der gleich ein ganzes Dutzend Sonnen auf- und untergehen. Mit glockiger Euphorie und zirpenden Explosionen warmer Mikrowellen-Strahlen baut er auf seiner neuen Platte ein Haus, in dem nur Gutes geschieht. Kaum in Worte zu fassen und unsere verqueren Gedanken schamlos entblößend. Wie gesagt: Das nenne ich ein perfektes Album. headphone commute

Tim Arndt is back with another release on n5MD! L'Eixample is immediately a more mature, focused, and detail-oriented design. The title (Catalan for "extension") refers to a Spanish district in Barcelona, and indeed draws on impressions and inspirations on Arndt's latest travels to Spain. The production employs a composition of subdued tones and light beats that moves even further into the realm of melodic, atmospheric, and ambient IDM. Arndt lays down the foundation of swirling, reversed and reverberated pads, adding micro programmed rhythms sprinkled with gentle, glitchy, and fuzzy digital errors, all wrapped with an emotional theme of warm melodies, and an occasional eavesdropped conversation in the background. L'Eixample is Arndt's third full length release under the solo project, Near The Parenthesis, following on the heels of the 2007 album, Of Soft Construction, on n5MD as well. Arndt's past experience includes playing guitar and piano for several bands, most notable among them is the Urban Needle project with Steve Mehlman (Pere Ubu) and Mark Gamiere (The Wake). I would say that L'Eixample has more texture then Arndt's previous work, improving on creativity, atmospherics and the overall listening experience. L'Eixample is a further extension of Near The Parenthesis unique style and production techniques that have been perfected once again. Excellent music for those tranquil lazy mornings. Recommended if you follow n5MD's excellent roster, which includes Last Days, Bitcrush, SubtractiveLAD, and Another Electronic Musician. sonic immersion

Near the Parenthesis is the musical (dis)guise of San Francisco-based musician Tim Arndt, of which "L’Eixample" is his third full length release. Arndt himself describes his compositional style as "melancholic aesthetic".

The album, which was inspired by the overall impact and environment of the city of Barcelona, contains nine ambient tracks featuring textural, atmospheric music, which all reflect a melancholic, overall calming, subdued state.

Gentle beats, bits of glitch, and rhythmic components accompany distorted guitar sounds, intimate, mellow synth and vocal pads with sparse melodic lines, while varied field recordings (made during Arndt's travels) lend its own distinct pastel colours.

Occasionally vaporizing an undeniable sense of religious meaning (e.g. "Smdm"), these well executed and produced ambient electronics with reflective undercurrents radiates a peculiar sense of magic and longing for not often found. Think of the feel the music Ulrich Schnauss provokes with a twist. textura

No, L'Eixample isn't a misspelling of the French “l'example”; the album title refers to the modernist architecture Tim Arndt (aka Near The Parenthesis) encountered in the L'Eixample district during the Barcelona , Spain travels that inspired his follow-up to 2007's Of Soft Construction. Apparently, “L'Eixample” also means “extension” in Catalunyan, a meaning that's naturally applicable to the further refinement and development one hears in Arndt's Near The Parenthesis style. The San Francisco-based producer's music is a galaxy removed from abrasive, noise-based variants of the form, and the new album at times feels like a master class in “warm” electronica, with the opener “Modernisme” no finer example of just how alluring the genre can be when the right producer's involved. On subtly rapturous settings like “Cerda's Plan” and “A Brief Walk In The Sea,” piano, Rhodes , buried voices, and streaming guitars merge indissolubly with electronics to form multi-layered masses whose ebb and flow seductively draws the listener into a beatific sonic realm. Just because Arndt favours the genre's gentler side doesn't mean the music's mental pabulum either. Yes, it's pretty but it also exemplifies a sophistication in construction and design that rewards close listening. Though the gossamer web he spins in “Paral.lel” impresses as particularly lovely, throughout the album Arndt weaves together a remarkable sum-total of sounds—consider the densely arranged “Guell” and “Smdm” as prime examples—without ever lapsing into excess. The fifty-three-minute collection is about as lovely as “emotive electronica” gets. the milk factory

For his third album, San Francisco-based electronic musician Tim Amdt, who has been officiating under the strange pseudonym of Near The Parenthesis for a few years now, sought inspiration during a trip to Barcelona, and more particularly to the nineteenth century district of L’Eixample, renowned for its modernist architecture, including some of Gaudi’s best known buildings.

Having spent years in various formations through the years, Amdt finally established himself as a solo artist toward the beginning of the decade. His first album, Go Out And See, was published in 2006 on Canadian imprint Music Made By People, and was followed by an EP on Duotone that same year. Signed to n5MD shortly after, the second NTP album, Of Soft Construction, was released in 2007.

With L’Eixample, Amdt returns to the gentle atmospheric postcards that defined his previous outputs and expands on the already rich soundscapes and textures that served them. The nine tracks collected here seamlessly morph into one another and melodies effortlessly float above the minute formations that act as main backbone for each individual piece. Sounding like representations of crisp, cold and foggy winter mornings, where familiar settings are swallowed in a dense veil and become haunting shapes, Amdt’s compositions move slowly, revealing various facets of their individual scope with each new exposure. But, behind the dense textural curtain which covers the whole album, lush instrumentations and sequences can be heard. Distant voices, softened pianos or rounded electric guitars create unique spaces within the music and, while contributing greatly to the overall mood, also manage to radiate altogether much more vivid tones. On Cedra’s Plan for instance, the main piano melody which emerges from the shifting waters of the first half of the piece gives a much earthier feel to the latter part. SMDM is instantly more clearly defined, but yet again, it is the piano that contrasts with its resolutely vaporous backdrop. On Empty Square, piano and processed guitars create a mood reminiscent of the collaboration between former Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie and ambient composer Harold Budd, but then the track takes a turn for the barer and more desolate until just a distant voice remains, and on opening piece Modernisme, ethereal voices contribute to the overall haunting feel of the composition.

Tim Amdt has created with his third album an exquisite atmospheric soundtrack. The refined soundscapes and moods serve his melodies beautifully, and contribute to create an extremely consistent and cinematic collection. ear influxion

There was a wave of so-called "IDM" that rushed in like a tsunami in the late 90s and early 00s that mined heavily from the sounds pioneered by Autechre with their mid-period albums Tri Repetae and Chiastic Slide; while a lot of young producers drew inspiration from those melancholy, non-dancefloor sounds, Autechre moved further and further into abstraction with a series of albums that sounded at times like they were generated by an algorithm, sometimes alienating the fans that had fallen in love with their more obvious and emotive records. Labels like Neo Ouija and City Centre Offices carved a niche for themselves with a series of introspective, instrumental electronic albums from a range of producers all working in tandem within a sort of IDM zeitgeist. I speak for myself and perhaps others as well when I say that the initial fascination with these sounds waned in the mid-00s, emphasized by labels like Morr Music altogether shifting focus toward a vague shoegazer revival, Planet µ switching gears into a dubstep authority, and Autechre continuing to shapeshift in new ways that confound categorization.

San Francisco-based producer Tim Arndt's third release as Near The Parenthesis is my first exposure to his music... I stumbled onto it by chance and am glad that I did. At the risk of sounding generalist, one might say that the music of Near The Parenthesis subscribes to the post-Autechre school of electronic listening. However, I'd venture that it's something slightly beyond that... That is to say that I suspect he's been influenced possibly by those seminal sounds as well as what's come beyond it. But as I write this, I think perhaps this all sounds a bit presumptuous or condescending, as it takes a lot away from Arndt's own musical talents, which should not be underestimated — IDM, post-Autechre or whatever you want to call it, L'Eixample is an achingly beautiful album.

Many of the nine tracks found on L'Eixample ebb and flow with a ponderous grace, with an emphasis on an understated melancholy and lushness that complement its textures, arrangements and melodic sensibility. It is in this shimmering warmth that L'Eixample shakes away many of the immediate comparisons to artists like Arovane or Autechre; many of the more angular or mechanical sounds to be found in those artists' work are completely absent here, or at least dialed down considerably. There is more in common with Cliff Martinez's Solaris score than anything on City Centre Offices; Arndt flaunts a similar knack for repetition and cyclical patterns that are at alternate times hypnotic, moving or insistent. Because of this, the tracks heard on L'Eixample don't feel overly distinct to me but parts of a whole, and this is why it succeeds as an album. While sometimes that homogenous quality can undermine an album, here it strengthens it. There are still some truly gorgeous specific moments on here: the opening melodic phrases of "Guell" are equally gloomy and lovely, while the closing sequence of "A Brief Walk In The Sea" is triumphant in its elegance. The disembodied voices underneath "Empty Square" and "Departing Gate" might make you turn your head a bit just to make sure it's on the album and not somewhere else in the distance; the latter also is built around a nice piano arrangement that builds over its five minutes into a layered beauty.

L'Eixample is a really nice piece of work that comes highly recommended for any fan of emotive, instrumental electronic music. For this listener, it's helped revive an interest in IDM and electronic listening music, proving that you don't need to reinvent the wheel to create something inspiring and moving.

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