Exotica Song Of The Month: August 2012
Plaid
Ralome
1999
There's probably only one out of 25 people who would call Plaid's Ralome off their 1999 album Rest Proof Clockwork an Exotica piece. I don't mind, for I have delivered worse contenders than this about which listeners have been more bewildered at best or wary at worst. And there's always the subterfuge of using the prefix neo- in front of anything to let people potentially reconsider their opinion; if this doesn't help, may you please take a look at the front artwork? Whatever your stance may be, I believe that Ralome is an absolutely stunning and laid back piece, especially so since the style of the British duo of Ed Handley and Andy Turner varies hugely, not just between their albums or between songs, but in-between the same song! When Rest Proof Clockwork is released in 1999 on Warp Records, it is the duo's second album for the label, and things are varied as usual: vinyl scratch-laden breakbeat pieces intermix with nostalgic ambience, and comical intersections mesh with Jungle particles. But Ralome is the standout piece of the album from an Exotica-related point of view, as it is the least electronic piece of the album, full of instrumehts even vintage Exotica fans know by heart and love with a passion.
Over the runtime of roughly 4 minutes and 30 seconds, Plaid present a dreamy, astonishingly hammock-compatible atmosphere on Ralome, co-written with Benet Walsh. The sun-soaked three-note motif on the steel guitar that shows first traces of the upcoming panoramic reverie is utterly mellow. Spectral but warm twangs whirr in the background, but it is the warped licks that bounce off in a typical Hawaiian kind that evoke the feeling of a sunny afternoon in paradise. Gentle shakers accompany the mélange of at least two steel guitars (or layers thereof), and the dubby bass droplets carefully accentuate the peaceful rapture of the setting. The steel guitar licks are then playing a staccato melody that floats less than it marshes, with definite pauses and alcoves between the note; these are filled by a quiet soundscape of synth washes, but they are whisper quiet scents and never detract from the beautiful interplay in the foreground. Faux-celestas or bells and spiraling electric pianos waft around the nucleus of the thermal heat, namely the steel guitars. The song ends with a somewhat cacophonous three-note steel guitar scheme, but this only happens in the last 15 seconds or so and can thus not be seen as a built-up or climactic revelation.
And so ends a piece of snugness and balmy sound waves that is the standout track of the album. Maybe not composition-wise or in a stylistic sense, but I'm talking about the used instruments, the atmosphere and warmth. No ethereal synth strings are used to boost the point of Ralome, there are no Cocktail Lounge particles added to the mix, just a pristine steel guitar base frame with the molecular shape of carefully added synth sweeps, but they are so hard to hear that hardly anyone notices them. This piece is way more related to vintage Exotica as it is to the neo-Exotica scene, trust me. If you are a fan of lap or steel guitars and bands like The Vanduras or The Blue Hawaiians, this little ditty will capture your heart, although it is not of the darkly nocturnal, but glaringly bright kind and a bit saccharine. It is never kitschy in its depiction, though. Ralome creates a steel guitar flow that's hard to resist. Pre-listen to it on iTunes, Amazon or other digital music stores, as it is available all over the world. The album oscillates heavily between styles, but you wouldn't guess this when listening to this particular track. It is as if an Exotica band with years of experience came up with their most dreamy song. But it's no Exotica band but the electronic music duo of Plaid. Simply astonishing!
Exotica Song Of The Month Review for August 2012: Plaid – Ralome (1999). Originally published on Aug. 2, 2012 at AmbientExotica.com.