On April 9th, Brooklyn-based ambient artist and film composer, Derek Muro, releases his debut solo record, cues. Releasing on Brooklyn-based indie-house label, toucan sounds, this record finds the composer honing his cinematic music chops into an immersive, sonically restless, texturally diverse set of tracks.
Muro’s music exists somewhere in the space between ambient, jazz, drone, found-sound, and, of course, old-school movie soundtracks. With his work in film scores, Muro brings a highly-attuned sense of pacing, emotion, and storytelling to his solo music. Penultimate track, “ramble2”, feels like it could fit right in at the climax of an ‘80s-action movie, with its imposing electric guitar line and metronomic drums setting the stage for an epic showdown. Despite this enveloping heaviness, the emergence of a crooning saxophone and ambient washes keep the track well-balanced and emotionally resonant. There’s a deft touch to the drama which never allows the track to careen too far into cliche.
As the track builds in momentum, Muro’s sonic world begins to reveal itself as involving elements of found-sounds. By the end of the track, with the instruments fading, the sound of a train emerges. This seems to be a reminder that inside the grandiosity and theatricality of this music, the reality of the modern world will always remain. But how wonderful to be given a chance to escape, if only for a brief moment.
