Rafael Anton Irisarri - Midnight Colours (Remastered) (2024) [Hi-Res]

Originally released in 2017 in a limited, cassette-only run, Midnight Colours is a musical replica of the doomsday clock constructed by prolific New York producer Rafael Anton Irisarri. At the time of recording, we were two-and-a-half minutes from midnight; given how we’ve frittered away another minute in the seven years since it’s only fair that Irisarri would revisit and refurbish this out-of-print one-off to attract a wider audience. To that end, the remastered Midnight Colours expands the original’s sonics to transcend the technical limits inherent to the cassette-only format, reinforcing the existential dread lurking within each stunning, impeccably textured soundscape. The closer’s drone-heavy spacetime collapse aside, the path to oblivion doesn’t sound as imposing as the concept would suggest; “Two and a Half Minutes” and “Circuits,” with their fragmented, wind chime-esque synth loops and new age flourishes, render apocalypse almost soothing. Don’t mistake Irisarri’s graceful ambient as an invitation for escapism, though: this is a wake-up call first, meditation second. Oppenheimer would approve.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Rafael Anton Irisarri - The Clock (Remastered) (5:11)
1.02 - Rafael Anton Irisarri - Falling Curtain (Remastered) (6:16)
1.03 - Rafael Anton Irisarri - Oh Paris, We Are Fucked (Remastered) (6:08)
1.04 - Rafael Anton Irisarri - Circuits (Remastered) (2:22)
1.05 - Rafael Anton Irisarri - Every Scene Fades (Remastered) (6:35)
1.06 - Rafael Anton Irisarri - Two and a Half Minutes (Remastered) (2:30)
1.07 - Rafael Anton Irisarri - Drifting (Remastered) (8:39)
1.08 - Rafael Anton Irisarri - A Ruptured Tranquility (Remastered) (4:11)