Sometimes, albums sneak up on you and become the very thing you need at that moment. Daniel of the excellent prog rock band Deposed King sent me his new project The Mimas Paradox some time ago. I was so busy, it slipped my mind until he reminded me. And guess what? The music is exactly the honey for the soul I needed. The album is called Resonance and it released on October 1st.
The Mimas Paradox is a collaboration between Daniel Kriffel of Deposed King and his friend, Ferenc Izsépi. Daniel handles piano, synthesizers, guitars, and cover art; Ferenc Izsépi handles synthesizers, electric guitars, and bass; and you’ll hear Gabor Budai on guitar on one track.
The music here is electronic, at least at first glance. It is full of synth and programming that sounds ethereal, cosmic, otherworldly. But it also features plenty of electric guitar and rock elements, which kind of feel like post-rock or darkwave to me. There are certainly ambient portions, gorgeous ones, but you’ll also hear driving, surging, flying passages that feel like you’re sweeping through space and time. And it’s not just a cosmic journey; no, the whole thing feels very much like there’s a theme: the oneness and utter harmonic frequency of everything that is.
And that means this completely instrumental album still gives pause. It still gives me room to consider and introspect. I love the feelings of rocketing through space, of filtering through time, or seeing heavenly bodies on full display. But also love the quantum angle, the interconnectedness of it all and the subtle hope I feel as the album ends.
Resonance contains eight tracks, and they flow into each other with great harmony, and with deep consistency. I love the opener “Dawn”, a short yet incredibly warm and buttery smooth electronic piece. It makes me feel happy. “Deep Space” comes next with spunk and quirk, but somehow also true beauty. There’s just something about the emotional guitar soloing that I love. “Pillars of Creation” follows, and we get our first real, driving beat. The song has ambience and thought floating in a void of abstraction, but also a fiery tempo and squirrely electronica at times.
Then comes my favorite overall, “Cosmic Solitude”. I love the warm bass on this track, the nuanced electronica, the distant guitars. It has such expression, such calculated and inspired melodies. It grows as it progresses, like a song of the stars.
My second favorite comes next, “Floating”. This one has such nostalgic, reserved melodies. It feels at once both familiar and otherworldly, spacious and fulfilling. It literally feels like hovering in an ancient void. This half continues with “Dark Matter”, a somewhat mute, restrained piece that feels like delving into atoms and molecules, like entering hidden worlds.
The final two tracks are wonderful. “Kuiper Belt” has both shadowy and celestial vibes, with a nice, bassy electronic sound that I love. The crystalline climax near the end leads into acoustic guitar and tender thoughts. And those thoughts are fulfilled in “Eventide”. This shorter piece is as warm as “Dawn”, with subtle notes and accents, with energy that seems like it could burst open at any moment, with amber colors of feeling and home. The atmospheric gold that closes the record could last forever, for all I care.
The Mimas Paradox has a terrific debut here. Resonance makes you feel, well, resonant and harmonious. It has plenty of exciting moments, painting an ambient and ambitious picture of our reality. This is one of those albums that’s very easy to replay over and over right in a row. It just makes you feel great.
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Find The Mimas Paradox online:
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