Style: melodic ambient
Thoughts: 3 six has been a favorite of mine within the ambient genre for a very long time. I discovered his music years before I found any of the other ambient that I've been delving into lately. I love most of his music, especially the early works.
Reality Engine is the third part of what is Past Inside the Presents "synth trilogy." I'm not sure what the other two entries are, but this one is certainly quite different than the early works I enjoyed so much from 36.
Quite a bit has changed: instead of hazy slowly evolving structures we have defined synths playing reverbed melodies. Instead of an overarching theme, the melodies will modulate in different patterns in a "variations on a theme" format. Instead of a wall of sound approach there are now individual melodic lines that build over each other creating a similar effect but with an entirely different feel to it.
This album took me a bit to enjoy when I first put it on. It was not at all what I was expecting from 36, but is that a bad thing? Just because I expect a specific thing from an artist does not mean that they have to oblige. In fact if they write something for me, or really anyone else what is their art then? Isn't that the definition of selling out if they aren't making music for themselves.
Reality Engine is different, very different. It falls somewhere in between synthwave, ambient, and the usual haze that 36 brings. Yet somehow it belongs to none of these genres. It's it's own study of melody in an ambient setting. It's a celebration of aural joy. It's a place where you can come to rest... be at peace.
There is nothing overtly challenging about Reality Engine, but that does not mean that there is nothing happening here. There are textures here that are not present in most other music. There's a call and response structure to the music that evolves over time and becomes a core tenant of the music. 36 has evolved with time and Reality Engine shows just how much. A welcome change from an old friend.
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