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In this new release called “Shelter,” an eight-track album written and recorded together with longtime bandmate Joel Daquioag Jr during a 21-day jaunt in Singapore, The Nocturne Project offers what perhaps is an ode to travel that is both inspired and fluid.

The opening track, “Ethnicity,” feels like it was borne out of the collected fragments of one’s travel journal. There is an unapologetically cheery aspect to the oriental-sounding track that pulls you in and leaves you wanting more; it sounds fresh and exuberant and makes you hopeful to the core. Meanwhile, the familiar loops of “Steps” are simple, and in so many ways, formulaic. It’s like Sneaker Pimps meets Coltrane, only more virtual and less edgy.

“Forever Summer,” for all its frenzy, sounds current, and justifiably so. It’s like poetry that’s supposed to breed tension and swiftly build up to a buzzing peak. It then collapses to the misleading serenity that is “Finding Our Way.” Imagine being stuck on the subway of a non-English speaking country for two hours because you missed your stop. You shuffle through printed maps showing the spaghetti-like train lines. You mimic the locals, afraid of being singled out while you’re majorly panicking inside. It’s fear and exploration condensed in three-and-a-half minutes; the kind of trip that teaches you more about life in an unsettling setting.

The next track, “Owl,” can be boiled down to just three words: hypnotic, sinister, and visceral. Its low-end hum pulsates deep like midnight. Or more like a soundtrack to a pensive scene in the neo-noir Ryan Gosling-starrer Drive.

“Blankets” is like the afterglow you see on your face in the morning after meeting the perfect stranger the night before; “Safe With You,” the tasteful, chaotic crescendo that almost closes the album, has enough pomp and energy to outshine a nearby star.

Following the onslaught is “Goodbye,” a chiming craftwork suffused with sullen expectation and surprising structure. It’s unfortunate that it leaves you longing for the next track because it’s sadly the last one, but isn’t that how it always feels with goodbyes?

While comparably less moody than previous releases like 2012’s Awakening and 2015’s Moving Portraits EP, Shelter is never not pivoting. It seems like a well-written personal narrative with its excellent track sequence and its full-bodied concept that flies. A few listens according to track number of this delectably concise album is highly recommended. It makes one appreciate the even wider range The Nocturne Project offers today. - Klaris Chua

The Nocturne Project is the moniker of Filipino Composer and Laptop Musician Ivan Ferrero who's work seamlessly blends in ambient, electronic, acoustic and field recordings into a lovely blanket of music that evokes a strong sense of warmth and sentimentality.

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