Kid Koala featuring Emilíana Torrini - Music to Draw To: Satellite

Beginning with a modest transmission from the outer spheres, the opening track’s simple ambient music is the metaphorical prism through which we observe Kid Koala’s astral conceptions on album Music to Draw To: Satellite. Gentle swathes of sound, initially grounded by a looping bass, but as the album progresses, occasionally drenched warmly in the soothing voice of Emiliana Torrini, the Icelandic star with a trip-hop background; bearing similarity to Billie Holiday in the sexy but insouciant delivery of her lyrics. 

The prevailing mood on Music to Draw To: Satellite is really doleful wonder; what you might feel while contemplating the night at a resting heart rate. Nothing will shake your foundations. Not like Kid Koala’s previous excursions of turntable mischief, or Torrini’s experiments with trippy indie like Love In the Time of Science, or her folk inclinations thereafter. This is more in Brian Eno territory. 

The interest factor might wane if you’re not in the moment. Sometimes as in ‘Transmission 3’’  there is a simple device that provides the variation, a little sustained acoustic guitar and some echo. A space lullaby of succouring nourishment. On ‘The Hubble Constant’ trickling piano playing like extra-terrestrial chimes amidst unfamiliar but welcoming landscapes, or distant galaxies. Or the muted twangy tones on ‘Photons’, an aura of droning transfixion. The varied modulations on Music to Draw To: Satellite are the key to a satisfying musical experience, as is the pathos brought by Torrini’s earthy soprano, sometimes whispered to great affect (as on ‘Satellite). 

An album of rare and beautiful subtlety.