Review Summary: lavender fingers, swallow my pollen.
On paper, it seems a little counterintuitive to marry RY X's uniquely adamant take on understated indie folk-goes-R&B to a full blown orchestra. The sultry Australian's feverishly sensual and delicate timbres have always festooned themselves to a romantic chasm of lust and introspection, stirring up yearning hearts with subdued deep-house rhythms and silky background arrangements, and as such, it often comes as a bit of a "holy sh*t" moment when casual fans first hear his hand-in-glove synergy alongside proper ensembles. It's all so... natural, as if he and the exotic choruses of brass and horsehair have shared the air since day one, rising and falling between heartfelt crescendos in unison and sharing their memories with every sunrise. "Uncanny" might be an apt descriptor then, as RY X is a solo artist first and foremost, scripting intimate songs to be shared in the quietest hours of an evening with your lover, and not necessarily the kind of expat-surfer-hippie you'd expect to see guiding a classical concert hall to joyful tears. He does a fantastic job of it though, and his newest release with the London Contemporary Orchestra marks his first official release of such a grand spectacle.
Recorded in October of 2019 and finally released digitally in early 2021, this collaborative effort isn't the first time RY X has worked with a philharmonic kit. In fact (and to the surprise of many like myself), performing with orchestras is a bit of a passion for the Australian babe; a passion that has fortuitously brought the world some of the most touching live events in modern music. Dim lights, supple strings, and the soft croons of a bearded man with seashell bracelets and loose-fitted hemp tees has graced a number of halls by this point, with each evening curated and executed with an overwhelming sense of genuine humility. A quick jaunt through the YouTube search results will quickly reveal another full concert alongside the Brussels Philharmonic Soloists that took place in 2019 - an event so moving it's nigh unbelievable until you experience it for yourself, and one that certainly stands as the finest example of his penchant for engendering endearing chemistry with a large group of musicians. It was on that very same tour that his sold-out performance at Royal Albert Hall took place. Another vulnerable evening that sat in the vaults of privy memory for almost two years before finally receiving the good old fashioned digital release treatment, what it lacks in the visual stimuli of the Brussels/YouTube concert, it makes up for in stunning fidelity and sonic transparency. His finest songs both old and new pepper the well-paced tracklist, ebbing and flowing between peaky emotion and the inward gaze of ambience with grace and poise.
Now, beyond the orchestral endeavours, it can be argued that this Aussie-gone-LA's finest hour was vested within his debut album,
Dawn - a case that's well-bolstered by glistening gems like "Sweat" and "Howling"; both of which get the royal treatment here with poetic strings extrapolating on their minimalist origins. Ry's voice and minutiae acoustic guitar melt into the London Contemporary’s magic throughout, becoming one and whole on the angelic "Salt" proclaiming
"We let love be like water to wine, we let love be the higher design", and posing as a juxtaposition to the distant, driving beats on tracks like "Body Sun" and "The Water". Assuredly, a collective sense of peace and admiration grounded the audience by evening’s end, with a denouement that wrapped things up with the same meditative energy of the opening movement. RY X’s unique sound fit the bill hand-in-glove alongside one of the UK’s finest ensembles here, neither sad nor happy-go-lucky by nature, but rife with emotive elements that pirouette between animal lust and spiritual revelation. Egos crumble in the face of such an experience, and as lucky as the crowd was that night, we can safely count ourselves among the fortunate as well.
