Roland P. Young - Confluences (2015)

The fourth release from Roland P. Young on EM Records sees him moving ever deeper, earthbound and rooted, yet simultaneously flying further out, expanding his exploration of untethered celestial realms. Recorded in 2014 following a move to Tel Aviv, the title Confluences hints at the blend of cultures and histories in his new homeland, and is reflected in the music, which shows a range of cultural influences, filtered through Young's unique sensibility and vision. This is a calm, spiritual set, evidencing an inner comfort that was less prevalent on his Brooklyn recordings. This is not to imply that RPY is no longer searching; this release brings to fruition the promise of earlier recordings such as Isophonic Boogie Woogie (EM 1045CD/HJ-LP) and Istet Serenade (EM 1087CD/LP), made complete via Young's multi-instrumental chops on sax, bass clarinet, kalimba, and keyboards working in tandem with his rhythm and bass programming skills, his multi-track studio mastery, and an ever-evolving sense of musical form and drama. The confluences of cultures are of course swirling throughout this release, but also the confluences, as noted above, of the earthy and the celestial, as well as the temporal confluences of the past, present, and future. Perhaps more than any of his previous releases, Confluences realizes Young's description of his own work as "Afro spiritual minimal electronic space music." Available on CD and LP, this release is the next stage of Roland P. Young's never-ending voyage.