Privilege

Photographer: Ronni Shendar.
Till Rohmann's 2010 album under his Glitterbug name is nothing if not ambitious -- a full-to-the-brim two-CD release, described by him in the liner notes as inspired by both his worldwide travels due to his musical success and his reflection on how that's a chance few people get to enjoy. Sentiments aside, does Privilege succeed in its own right? It may not be a Selected Ambient Works, Vol. 2, say, and the danger of any truly long release lies in the potential of wearing out its welcome early. But Privilege does work at its best as loosely flowing travelogue, an understated progression that starts calmly with "Lionheart" and builds a calm propulsion as it goes. The Glitterbug approach of ambient loops and understated rhythms is both familiar and possessed of its own character, almost a gentle trust in letting each core melody or rhythm become something close to a mantra. Even when the beats gain in volume, as on "After All," the effect is of serenity thanks to the arrangement of simple, entrancing tones. ~ Ned Raggett