The new release from Antonis Haniotakis as Melorman arrived in my inbox with the labels ‘electronica’ and ‘ambient’ prominently attached. I’d actually take issue with the latter- obviously all genres are subjective but nevertheless I’m not sure it actually qualifies as ambient, on the grounds that it’s always got a steady beat, usually with drum patterns and pulsing synths- but it is certainly mellow and relaxing. The most apt word in the press release for describing it is probably “fluffy”. It’s buckets of fluffy.

It’s a pack of six fairly long downtempo electronica instrumentals that gradually unfold in fairly familar patterns, introducing elements one at a time and rotating them in and out to evoke a feeling of long, steady travelling (with one track even called “Travelling”). This is music for headphones whilst staring out of the window of a train.

Some of the sounds border on kitsch- the organ tones on opener “Eliquis”, or the vocal ahhh pads in “Travelling” maybe. Others manage to avoid pushing quite that far, but there’s certainly a sense of warmth, brightness and optimism pervading most of these tracks that will strike a chord with listeners who are in the right mood for it.

There are glitches and mildly crisper tones in play as well, but not prominently. Slightly crunchy edges to the wash sounds in “Night Falls” are useful for avoiding the whole track sounding like a throwback to some “90’s trance chillout” compilation- and the wave noises on that track couldn’t sound much more balearic than they already do.

“8 a.m.” particularly appealed to me, and it’s a little more purposeful than the other tracks, with a more overtly synthwave tone and a decidedly Vangelis-ish bassline- and some unexpected chords in the second half that are halfway to classic house piano.

For forty minutes this release doesn’t exude originality or grab your attention, but if you’re looking for a very competent update of a well-trodden downtempo electronica sound, with some pretty melodies and an abundance of fluff, you will certainly enjoy this.