Album Review: Ben Arp – Luminous

Ben Arp
Luminous
Ben Arp Music

Best known for his work with the industrial label Crunch Pod and his Aggrotech project C/A/T, Ben Arp has opted to show off a little bit of his softer side in his newest solo EP, Luminous. Luminous picks up some of the same minimalist and exploratory threads from his last solo work, 2010 in 3 Pieces, but takes things in a more introspective direction.

Throughout the EP Arp shows a lot of delicacy and simplicity in his arrangements, playing with decays and sustains and letting things develop in an organic fashion.

The EP’s opener, “Less Traveled for a Reason,” features subdued break beats and sparse synth lines forming a slow groove. There are some hints of Jungle or Drum ‘n’ Bass influences, but just a hint to spice things up as we hear different little spurts decay and ring out.

“Overwhelming Urge to Vanish” continues the tonal exploration with a slightly darker mood than the last piece, but with some contrasting audio sparkle, playing with the tension between them. Similar vibes and sparse arrangements fill out the EP, giving the listener all sorts of little chills down the spine as the different textures collide.

Luminous is a very cool collection of mellow Electronica tracks, and I’m looking forward to hearing the full-length album Arp has planned for later this year.

– Pyra Draculea