The four main pieces (or figures, represented graphically on the cover) are inspired by four of Herington’s recurring childhood dreams. Events within dreams are often not bound by the same laws of physics and norms of social convention as those of day to day life. Thus, within the four figures, the most fantastic and unlikely scores play out as in a dream. The nonsensical logic one possesses while dreaming makes perfect sense until one wakes up, but with Silent Relux we get to hear it (and smell it, yes) awake, in all its non-linear and irrational glory. For some listeners, this could prove challenging, but I can’t get enough, and am somehow forever surprised and disappointed when it ends. Of course, it helps that I love the sounds of bassoons, saxophones and clarinets, of which there are plenty here to sink into and drift away. And as well as more conventional instruments such as piano, guitar and drums, there is all manner of percussion (including glockenspiel), saz and oud, cellos, viola and violin. A veritable cacophony or cornucopia, depending on your preference.

Reflux is the flow backwards through a vessel or valve (or V Ä L V Ē), and so Silent Reflux seems a wonderful title for an album that takes us back in time, not just to Herington’s recurring dreams of childhood, but to splendidly outrageous music vaguely reminiscent of ’70s avant garde artists such as Henry Cow – or being removed out of the flow of time completely. It’s all very wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, and (at least, for me) exuberantly joyful and playful. The three shorter pieces interspersed among the four dream figures are just as enjoyable, though sonically very different. Interestingly, these are the three tracks that have had videos created for them, but I’m guessing this is so listeners can visualise the dreams in their own way, as Herington desires each listener “to have a singular and individual experience at home”. I don’t know about singular, though, as this is one series of dreams I don’t mind recurring again and again…