Tag Archives: Just Music

Switched On – Marconi Union: Multiforms: Ambient Transmissions Vol. 3 (Just Music)

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Reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Marconi Union add another notch to their Multiforms: Ambient Transmissions series with a third volume, accompanied by a full-length A/V visualiser.

It is now 23 years since the Manchester group gave notice of their talents in ambient music with Under Wires and Searchlights. Yet it is 14 years since the second in their Ambient Transmissions series, Weightless – itself a year after Beautifully Falling Apart. In the words of the press release, “There are no standout tracks by design; instead, the album invites full immersion, encouraging the listener to drift through shifting atmospheres, serene soundscapes and quietly evolving emotional states. It is both expansive and intimate, designed for deep listening.”

What’s the music like?

Very easy on the ear. Marconi Union’s music takes its own sweet time to volve, shifting gradually but steadily into live. With warm ambience, Multiform I sets the scene, before Multiform II gets real depth with a sonorous bass note. The progression is smooth, through to Multiform V which provides the sonic equivalent of warm water lapping at the shore of a sandy beach, with nobody in sight. As idyllic as it sounds. The final movement of the suite, Multiform VI, returns to earth with soft piano chords.

The visualiser, which you can watch below, provides the ultimate calming experience.

Does it all work?

Yes, with plenty to spare – and with minimum effort on the part of the listener!

Is it recommended?

It is indeed – Marconi Union devotees will not be hesitating, and neither should the rest of us! Providing the opportunity to pause for thought, Multiform is the ideal comedown from busy times.

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Published post no.2,938 – Sunday 5 July 2026

Switched On – Digitonal: Set The Weather Fair (Just Music)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

For Digitonal’s fourth studio album, Andrew Dobson is joined by producer Dom Graveson for a fusion of analogue and digital setting natural scenes to vivid music. Set The Weather Fair will be a comforting reassurance to those who have already enjoyed Dobson’s first three albums under the Digitonal moniker, but this one offers greater depths of texture and musicianship.

What’s the music like?

Blissful – but also wholly immersive. This is music that paints vivid pictures but in the same breath possesses a great deal of emotion. One of the biggest pluses here is the way Dobson uses his clarinet and cello to colour the textures and to make the melodies more distinctive. He also knows his way around small and expansive structures – the ten-minute Gold Of The Azure is every bit as captivating as The End Is Just The Beginning that follows it.

Those two tracks are notable for their use of the clarinet, which comes to the fore on Gold Of The Azure, and then the cello on The End Is Just The Beginning, which features a slowly tolling piano. The Dance’s Pattern, too, is ideally paced.

On his Bandcamp page Dobson sets out the story behind the album and its sonic images, citing a number of influences in a modest tribute to the music he listens to. The truth of the matter is however that this music, instrumental thought it is in his make-up, is all used to make a wholly original piece of work, a recognisably British affair where both restraint and bold colours are used to great effect.

Does it all work?

Yes. The colours are captivating, the use of beats and beatless music is just right, and the proportions feel right too. Dobson has a winning way with melody, and Graveson’s production nouse is the icing on the cake.

Is it recommended?

It is. Set The Weather Fair can easily be divided into the nine elements that make up the whole, but it is best experienced in a single sitting, a seamless flow of musical ambience that settles the mind and gently moves the soul. It is right up there with Digitonal’s best work.

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