Michael Regina offers spacey, ambiently hued classical suites on the symphonic “Time’s Illusion”. The sound itself has a dilated quality to it for stretches time out into a dreamy world. Colors are abundant throughout with each track playing off the last. Attention to detail has an exquisite sensibility to it with each flourish feeling so poignant, radiating off up into the sky in a great cloud. Lush melodies adorn the album with the languid rhythms giving things a meditative quality. Stylistically rooted in ambient, he incorporates pieces of drone, psychedelic, IDM, electro, and dance into a coherent cohesive whole. Without needing to say a single word a whole narrative comes about one that has such richness to it.
A rather timeless approach, his takes its cues from groups like the living breathing ecosystems of the Future Sound of London. Similar to their work, his has a cosmic tact to it with the sounds seemingly endless. The rhythms too also touch upon their pastoral passages. Going further in depth there are little glimmers of Tangerine Dream’s 70s output, for it has that same warm welcoming presence to it. By taking the entire thing in as a singular whole there is a beauty to be found among the small yet significant flourishes.
Mystical in tenor comes the gliding vibrations of “The Chosen Few” which opens up the album. A nice easygoing groove anchors the kind journey of “Frequencies”. Piano and keyboards merge together on the tenderness of “Days Gone By” itself steeped in a certain yellowed nostalgia. Various effects bounce into each other with “Time and Again”. Heavy, very heavy beats hit with a force of nature on the endless expanses of “Noctis Decus” featuring wide open spaces. Cinematic in scope “Remembrance” has an epic sweeping style as it hovers in an eerie transfixing fashion.
Quite intricate the buildup of “Unity Quest” features a satisfying spirit about it. Beats hit with their own heaviness on the economic tempos of “Smile Through Sorrow”. Slow yet steady “A Traveler’s Tale” features a nice bit of perseverance about it, one that lets the work touch upon a shining futuristic take on spaghetti westerns. “Shrouded Light” bring a soothing, sunny disposition into the fray for it has such bright brilliant colors to it. With the baroque “The Fortress” the album comes to a close in a fantastic series of flourishes.
“Time’s Illusion” offers a kaleidoscopic array of textures, with the Byzantine patterns a testament to Michael Regina’s fine skill in exploring a distinct aural universe.
