"Experimentalism can be both accessible and beautiful......" .
"...Sentimentalist taps into the senses in intimate and vividly evocative ways that are guaranteed to entangle and immerse many in its fragrant and nostalgic charms...Highly Recommended"
There's a brittle harshness to the way Melissa Agate plays acoustic guitar and ukulele that suggests she's anything but sentimental. The tautness of the strings seems to cut through all the digital manipulation going on around them as if it weren't even there. It therefore comes as no surprise to discover that Agate saves her tightest and best performance, including some marvellously deft percussion work, for a track called "Unsentimental".
Her compositions have a stripped down and disarming quality that leaves little room for sentiment; subtlety and complexity are brought about by the simplest, most unadorned means."
"Sanso-xtro ouvre sa propre voie"
"A collection of meditative vignettes delicately assembled from a vivid bank of acoustic and electronic sounds"
"if sanso-xtro were to be a kind of medicine, it would be a home-made, plant-based one. Extremely touching music, In a class of her own" 4/5
"one of the most impressive digital sound assemblages heard in 2005 so far".
"Countless lambent delights and enthralling compositions which deserve to be enjoyed by a wide and appreciative audience."
Multi-instrumentalist Melissa Agate delivers her first solo album for the wonderful Type Label. In keeping with their run of recent releases this is absolute class in every respect. Managing to conjure up a delicate balance between organic / acoustic and electronic she's clearly influenced by a wide range of sounds both awkward and flowing. Field recordings, delicious melodies, intricate rhythmic work and a fine ear for the obscure and playful... All are hallmarks of this album. It's dense, Lush and Beautiful and comes Highly Recommended.
"Sentimentalist is a beautiful album...
...a must have album for fans of Type Records and Rune Grammophon releases..."
