3.5

Release data:

Ruben Garcia – Colors in Motion
CD, Close Tolerance Music, 1992

“Colors in Motion” is the debut album of New Mexico-based minimalist composer, self-taught pianist, engineer, and producer Ruben Garcia, whose also a close friend of A Produce.

This album is the most electronic compared with his later albums, which more and more featured extensively modified piano sounds. The use of a light sequencer style and acoustic percussion made me think of the solo-work Peter Bauman or Edgar Froese (“Ages”, “Pinnacles”), although Ruben’s relaxed atmospheric music tells a different story.

The second piece “Elegy” e.g. features some slight symphonic hints, but the clear sounds also have something strange and unfamiliar (listen to the western-like environmentals on “The Movie Massacre”).
In its own way, the music is quite unpredictable and features several melancholic passages.
Through the music, one can already hear the slight influence of Harold Budd, whose sound would become more apparent on the following releases.

Overall, “Colors in Motion” offers an interesting collection of well produced electronic mood music with original angles.
Nice going, Ruben!

Website: www.closetolerancemusic.org

You can see what reviews I have done of this artist on the Ruben Garcia artist page