Raflum - Forgotten Woods In Autumn's Silence (2011) (9,5/10)

RAFLUM is a Chinese one man-project from the beautiful Sichuan province that focuses on Ambient and Neofolk music that could please to fans of bands such as ALCEST, DORNENREICH, EMPYRIUM, NEBELUNG, ULVER and VAIL. After its foundation in 2009, the project around a musician called Han had released a demo with beautiful hand-drawn artworks in 2010 and came around with a regular EP entitled “Forgotten Woods In Autumn’s Silence” in 2011 that is limited to 300 physical copies.

The title of this little EP perfectly fits the musical style of the band and the song titles give further appropriated descriptions. We talk about seven heavenly, peaceful tracks based around beautiful acoustic guitar melodies, soft tribal drums, smartly employed percussion instruments and a few string and flute passages. The whole minimalist mixture is supported by inoffensive ambient noises of falling rain, thunders in the sky, or leaves floating in the wind. The music is filled with emotions that some might describe as dark, but I feel rather a certain kind of optimism and pure harmony in all of the seven mystic songs. This record is almost entirely instrumental apart of some softly murmuring voices in one track. The Folk vibes don’t include traditional Chinese isntruments as far as I know and that’s why the band sounds somewhat universal and timeless. This kind of music could also come from Western Europe or North America.

As you might guess, this kind of music is very visual and creates loads of images one the listener’s mind. The music has not much to do with Metal but this kind of record is the perfect release to simply take a break, lay down on your bed and dream along to with your eyes closed. Personally, this kind of music really touches my mind and soul even though I wouldn’t listen to this kind of precious stuff all day long. If you’re in need for some peaceful and magic moments, don’t hesitate to give the entire release a few spins for free under the following link and don’t forget to encourage this smart one-man project:

http://pestproductions.bandcamp.com/album/forgotten-woods-in-autumns-silence

(Online January 31, 2013)