Grey Paris – Medea LP

I believe this is the first time we’re having something like this on our pages, and I am glad that Springstoff sent us stuff like this for review. This release goes beyond any genre I previously wrote about on Thoughts Words Action, so if you expected another review about extreme music genres, please skip this one. However, if you’re trying to expand your sonic vocabulary with some unique electronic music, Medea by Grey Paris might be right up your alley. I have to admit I wasn’t familiar with this trio. It is the first time I am experiencing their music, and their sound goes beyond my expectations. As far as I managed to inform myself about Grey Paris, this is their first full-length release or at least their first physical release published on vinyl. Of course, that doesn’t need to stop you from exploring their back catalog if you love what you’re hearing.

Medea carries six longevous compositions that will suit anyone who looks for a calmy, relaxing, soothing listening experience enhanced by clever ideas and exquisite musicianship. Judging by a couple of listenings, these numbers carry the ambiance of live improvisations and experimentations. However, it seems these tunes are thoroughly written, composed, and performed by profoundly experienced musicians capable of combining various musical directions to achieve the desired sound. Many things are going on in the singular track, and you can even imagine how many ideas Grey Paris invested in assembling six complex numbers.

Nevertheless, Grey Paris has an already proven formula for arranging their compositions. The band picks a minimalistic approach as a starting point but gradually builds up a colossal slab of cinematic and classic ambient, followed by electro-acoustic maneuvers, jazz improvisations, synthy beats, and other elements borrowed from electronic music. Of course, that’s not all. Quite the contrary, the band also incorporates adorable piano improvisations and synthy atmospherics, so each composition becomes even more luxurious. Although Medea is mainly an instrumental album, you may still stumble upon sampled vocals. Genre-wise, Medea continuously levitates between pleasant cinematic ambient, classic ambient, neo-classical, jazz, chillout, lounge, and Bossanova, but you may also stumble upon some other complementary genres along the way. Grey Paris improvise all the time, so Medea is a pleasant journey through the vast universe of music genres. Head over to the Grey Paris Bandcamp page for more information about ordering this gem.