Philippe Deschamps - Blue Baths

 

Released: July 21

A rather stark contrast from his previous release, Philippe Deschamps' Blue Baths is a serene and soothing trip through airy synths, vocal-like textures, and huge peaceful soundscapes. The album opens with the a track sharing the same name as the album, slowly drawing us in with heavenly tones and soft wooshes that evoke a feeling of standing on the beach as the sun's rays begin to beam down in the morning. The next track, "Mountains of wind," transports us to a wind-washed landscape with huge airy synths that quickly pick up and then fall away, as if we are catching an intermittent breeze. 

The final two tracks continue the them without moving us to a new setting, rather sending us into more abstract territory, especially "Blue Question" with its gentle rise and fall. The album maintains a somewhat abstract theme throughout, through Deschamps takes opportunities to utilize more concrete settings. This creates an interesting dynamic in its theme, slowly moving into from the real world and into a realm less grounded with somewhat spiritual overtones to make for a magnificent listen.