Yui Onodera and Vadim Bondarenko – Cloudscapes

Recently I decided to delve back through the Serein label’s back catalog and noticed that I’ve missed a real gem in this collaboration between Japanese sound artist Yui Onodera and musician Vadim Bondarenko.

‘Cloudscapes‘ features beautiful electronics and Ambient tones from Onodera and teams them alongside Bondarenko’s piano and clarinet sounds. The tracks vary in length and content and the execution is absolutely pristine. There is a careful variation in sounds which is balanced perfectly in the track ordering, opening with the beautiful piano notes of Cloudscape 1. After a few short effected modern classical pieces, the duo present a droning mid-length piece to clear your mind for a while – if you don’t skip this track, then when the second half of the album begins, you’ll really connect with this record as it closes with another suite of modern classical pieces. It is difficult not to think of Harold Budd and Brian Eno’s classic collaborations when writing about this record – although it is nowhere near a copy of their work. Cloudscapes is one of the finest modern Ambient records I’ve heard in a very long while – click play above to hear for yourself, or HERE to be directed to the release page.