Helios
Yume
Unseen Music
Keith Kenniff records music under many monikers and for distinct purposes – soundtracks, advertisements, dance performances, pleasure. He works across contemporary classical, ambient, indie and electronica creating dream-waft pleasures and, under the name Helios, he has, over the last decade, released a double-handful of albums that could be the soundtrack to the best day-trip you ever took without needing acid, could be the perfect soundtrack to opening – or for that matter closing – the curtains.
Helios’ music sits somewhere between Rhian Sheehan’s ambient excursions and the gently lapping tides of The Album Leaf.
Yume, the latest under the Helios brand is no exception. It might be my favourite since the album that sold me on this sound, Eingya (from exactly a decade ago).
The soft-stepping, languid loop of the title track, the stoicism of the mood built across Skies Minus, the gentle assurance of It Was Warmer Then, all of the pieces gathered here speak to the title – the Japanese word for ‘dream’. This is music that almost isn’t there – if you close your eyes you can try your best to disappear into it also. And that’s a lovely feeling.