Lauri Porra - "Matter and Time"
A soothing, stellar experience
Lauri Porra is atypical from most of the artists I follow — he’s the bassist for Stratovarius, and has been since 2005, but he is more broadly known as a composer. The albums produced under his name as ‘solo’ albums are typically his compositions but with a lot of support from other musicians in the execution; his last two albums, 2018’s Entropia and 2019’s Dust feature the Lahti Symphony and the Flyover Ensemble, respectively, in the title.
Matter and Time is no different — in fact, you can see the many contributors listed right there at the bottom left of the album cover. The album was commissioned by Finland’s Vantaa Orchestra, and was actually composed back in 2018; we’re just now getting the recorded version. And yes, that is, indeed, Stephen Fry’s name you see there amongst the contributors. He narrates!
This is also very much not your typical album. This is a musical audiobook: half-fantasy, half-textbook. It’s a the soundtrack to a mental voyage through time and space, exploring our collective history and evolution before launching into the stars. It is largely ambient, orchestral music with lulls and swells and the occasional electronic modifications (such as white noise). During the lulls, Stephen Fry narrates with the words of Finnish astronomer Esko Valtaoja.
There are, arguably, only two real “songs” on the album. The first is “Consciousness”, which is a gorgeous, ethereal thing, with vocals provided by Ringa Manner. If you do nothing else in regards to this album, you need to listen to that song.
The second is closing track “Future”, which is obnoxiously catchy. Musically, it’s fine — maybe even really good. The problem is that the lyrics are in binary. Nothing but zeroes and ones! Which becomes….way too much…and ruins any enjoyment of the song, personally.
Aside from that closing, the album is largely a pretty zen experience. If that sounds like your cup of tea, please give it a listen.
Otherwise, it is very niche, and doesn’t really scratch the itch for good music all that well because it’s so spaced out. As pretty as it is, it’s not for you if you’re after music; the experience is what it’s about.
Rating: Yellow