Review // Rupert Lally – Beyond the Night

Rupert Lally really needs little introduction to most electronic music fans. For the past 17 odd years he has been composing Eps and albums at a prolific rate and a consistently high quality. Lally blends electronic music with acoustic music creating anything from minimal, ambient soundscapes to dance floor filling stompers.

“Beyond The Night” is Rupert Lally’s latest album. A concept album of a journey taken from dusk to dawn. The album is split into two 15 odd minute long songs. The first “From Dusk To Midnight” the second “From Midnight Until Dawn.” The album opens with the turning of a key and the starting of a car engine, a soundtrack of a night’s drive.

So, before writing this review, I thought I’d put it to the test. When the house was sleeping, I slipped out for a late night drive. Rupert lives in Switzerland and in the scenario painted by “Beyond The Night” drives a DeLorean. I live in Sussex and I’m not allowed to touch my better halves car, so I’m driving a clapped out, once white, Citroën van. We start our engines and depart to the strains of a jazzy, bluesy, synth horn that breezes in to set the cult, underground cinematic soundtrack vibe.

As the synth horn drifts into the first electro beats and melodies, I head towards the tight, single track lanes surrounding the North side of the South Downs I’m imaging Lally leaving behind the bright lights of Zurich. As the Jazz horns return accompanied by minimalist effects I turn down the first lane.

For Lally it’s a toll booth, before the organic bass drops and the open toll roads allow Lally to put his foot down & let the DeLorean roar. The pace drops to one of Lally’s characteristic, delightfully emotive musical moments, mixing acoustic with electronic, constructing a beautiful, almost whimsical, soundscape.

Here Rupert slows the DeLorean to gaze upon the moons reflection shimmering across one of Switzerland’s great lakes. I also slowed and pulled in to stare at a pre-conquest Saxon Church, obscured behind a flint wall, a giant Yew and the dark of the night. A perfect soundtracked moment and an absolutely splendid ending to the first half of the album.

Side B, “From Midnight Until Dawn” finds Lally heading towards the sun and myself heading back home. Again to a delicate, brooding, jazzy intro before an organic beat rides in with 80s theme upbeat synthwave sound. I imagine Rupert has entered one of Switzerland’s long tunnels, with the DeLorean rushing under strip lights.

The upbeat track eases away into a piece of minimalism with the horns reappearing as the music rises to anther fantastic electronic rhythm. I’m now on the main road heading home. As I pull into my road just as Lally steers the DeLorean around his last chicane to face the rising sun. A perfect journey for the pair of us.

Lally’s music is always full of descriptive and emotive soundscapes, I recommend investigating his Bandcamp page, but with “Beyond The Night” Lally has raised the bar. There’s electro pop, ambient minimalism, organic and electronic rhythms and a sense of intrigue and dark mystery. A highly recommended listen.

“Beyond The Night” is Rupert Lally’s, as far as I’m aware, first album to get a vinyl release. Luckily it’s in the safe hands of Dan Seville’s superb indie label Subexotic Records. It’s available as a limited edition Sodium Yellow vinyl with a download or just as a download on Bandcamp.