Soar - s/t

Soar was the nom de plume of Swiss songwriter Christian Aebi, a prolific home-recorder who despite the release of five albums and 25 cassettes, remained somewhat of a local secret right up until his passing in 2021. Partnering once again with deepcut hunter Ivan Liechti (compiler of the great Ghost Riders collection, and also Swiss), Efficient Space bring together this selection of otherwise lost audio and visual ephemera that paints a very lovely picture of a romantic soundworld of dreamzone pop and soft-focus reverie. Drum machines skitter, guitars drift and twinkle as Aebi coos and whispers as if content to only be half heard, an act of self-fulfilling prophecy perhaps. The early-mid 90s timestamp is a crucial one in understanding the approach, reminiscent of the introverted, sad-soul siren song of Spectrum, Hood and Kirsty Yates and Julian Tardo's pre-Insides project, Earwig, and made all the more wistful for Aebi's absence. He might not have got the wider recognition he deserved while alive, but these 12 tracks prove an absorbing and thoughtful white flower tribute to a songwriter that seemed well suited to gentle hush.   
 
FFO: Transient Waves, Spectrum, Hood, Earwig, Parsley Sound