CASCATA

An emerging young artist from Portugal, Samuel Cadima has immersed himself in an enviably wide and varied collection of psychedelic, Krautrock, progressive-electronic/Berlin School, ambient and experimental music over the years, and his own work on his 2017 debut `Cascada' reflects a devouring of all those sounds and styles! Sam offers lengthy instrumental compositions frequently in the manner of Manuel Göttsching/Ashra, Agitation Free and the Berlin School vintage masters, all peppered with unpredictable direction changes and an eclectic diversity, as well as an emerging voice all his own.

The near-twenty three minute multi-sectioned title-track suite `Cascata' is a confident way to start the set, but Samuel already displays great understanding and appreciation of many of the above mentioned styles that weave in and out of this lengthy piece. It opens with hypnotic Berlin School spacey sounds of bubbling ambience, panning drones, gurgling electronics, intangible effects and cavernous voices that suggest the man has been soaking up the recent Cosmic Ground works and Klaus Schulze's `Blackdance', before continuing into darker mystery with spectral Mellotron choirs that turn oddly uplifting and comforting. Breathless machine clanging and bouncing sequencer pattering hold the whipping snap of classic period Tangerine Dream, crystalline guitar trills weep and siren-like wails cry from the dark, and ultimately deep-drone chasms of stark Steve Roach-like ambient serenity and gentle placid acoustic meanderings close this journey.

The raga-rock eastern acoustic guitar flavours and sitar-like groans of `Caiado' call to mind everything from Magic Carpet, Italian collective Aktuala and even modern groups like Saddar Bazaar once it diverts into dusty bluesy bursts. It heads into Agitation Free territory as it starts introducing whirring electronics, and some deep space vacuum-like ripples wouldn't sound out of place on an Øresund Space Collective LP. Manuel Göttsching-like guitar chimes loop, echo and ring into infinity around Jean-Michel Jarre-esque soothing prog-electronic drifts in `Voo Noturno', but the piece quickly lunges into hallucinogenic distortion collages and dirtier psychedelic guitar soloing before culminating in a eerily reflective and softly melancholic piano solo. The album then wraps on `Meia-Luz's crudely pulsing electronics over faraway shimmering electric guitar wisps and Ashra-like mellow soloing that even brings the most fleeting reminders of Pink Floyd.

Despite a few little expected rough edges here and there, `Cascada' holds a good balance of influences and emerging personal artistic flair, and Samuel's pieces show an understanding of unhurried space, supreme atmosphere and colourful variety well beyond his young years. This is a superb vinyl length debut that Samuel should be immensely proud of, and it will be exciting to discover what (multiple!) directions he moves in from here.

Four stars - and bonus points for David Guldbrandsen's vivid cover art.