Moments by BVSMV & Running in Slow Motion

"Moments" is a merging of worlds from Synthwave superstar and 80's revivalist BVSMV aka Bryan Kraft, and Ambient drone post rock shoegaze master Running in Slow Motion aka Also Bryan Kraft. These two distinct styles come together beautifully to form an entirely new genre that does not yet have a name, so for now we're going to just call it "Moments"

~Michael Southard (Triplicate Records)

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“Moments” is the new collaboration between BVSMV and Running In Slow Motion. It’s no secret that both of these artists are me, but as I write for both of them I get in a separate headspace. This EP came together quickly while quarantined at home like many of us. The juxtaposition of the organic sounds coalescing with digital synths has always been interesting to me, but taking a more free flowing ambient style and adding in bouncing arpeggios lead to beats and rhythms that may have not come up in a typical BVSMV track. At the end of the day this EP is about feeing relief and hope for new beginnings.

~Bryan Kraft (BVSMV and Running In Slow Motion)

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To save you time, I'll just come out and say you're going to love this record. It's eager to please and succeeds across the board. It's a rare successful melding of mellowness and joy in the dreamy-synthwave vein that I know you like, don't sleep on this one! Here sweet airs converge with reverb soaked drum machines marrying the up-beat hyperactive bliss of BVSMV & the stuck between stasis and anti-stasis envelop of Running In Slow Motion, hereafter referred to as BVSMVISM. If you've spent time listening to some of the fabulous Triplicate releases over the past couple years you've probably heard both of them, but would it blow your mind to learn that they're one and the same? Yes, one Bryan Kraft, Triplicate's resident artist and synthwave technician who also dabbles in ambient has created a sort of solo mind-meld of a record that inflicts delight upon the brain unapologetically right from the off and never stops running with it.

From Day Dream's first few tentative steps, even before the propulsive percussion boots up, the trademark Brykraftian synthwork beats a beautiful sonic pathway to your ears. The theme, as is often the case on BVSMV records is one of optimism bathed in bleeding edge technowizardry, anchored by RISM-esque chord stretches and raining arpeggios. You start to realise towards the end of the opener why Kraft chose to credit both sides of his musical personality, indeed it's a sologamous marriage made in heaven. The sparser Warm Magic is punctuated by wistful woodwind-samples and a catchy repeating new-age chord-sequence, creating a colourful and bright portal to a sweeter reality. The BVSMV personality takes the helm of a giant sea-bound clef here, steering the listener through shimmering oceans of staves (like that bit in Fantasia). Pauses in the percussion allow the RISM personality bubbling away in the undertow to rise to the surface to breach and exhale long drawn-out melodies which speak of the deep's mystique, and the warm magic chords that haunt the brine.

The third piece opens on a shiny splash of pure opiated bliss with adorning downward key washes. Aptly named 'Such Subtleties So Easily Missed', this one packs a great deal of bold musical ideas such as the frothing army-march percussion and subtle (heh) insect electronics just below the topsoil. What's more impressive is that Kraft manages to polymerize these myriad aural concepts without allowing the tune to feel bloated or convoluted; this is achieved thanks once again to the RISM personalities patient, reflective approach to songcraft, and when the tune seems to come to a close earlier than you'd expect despite reaching the four minute mark like the rest of the record, you're left pining for more subtleties. There's no time to be resting on one's laurels though, as Kraft is already off and operating a different engine entirely.
Memory to Media has a largely ambient first half, and could be considered the RISM personalities first stint in the driver's seat. The parallax of the virtual room this track exists in confounds the senses. Percussion plays a part further in but it's subtle and understated, the arpeggios and the buoyancy of the synths do all the storytelling here, and all in all the track serves as a pretty and pleasant mid-record breather.

Picking up the pace again we have penultimate banger 'Lessons in Time Travel', wherein the woodwinds make a joyous return, largely carrying the creeping melody until the three minute mark, wherein the trademark BVSMV synthwave drop finally announces itself. Though admittedly in a more formal, understated way that delights nonetheless, picking a groove and riding it out a while before the record comes full circle and a familiar melody plays. Closer 'Faded Dream' is the other side of 'Day Dream'. While the opener had the energetic sheen of the BVSMV personalities fingerprints all over it, the ambient RISM aspect of the Brian Kraft dichotomy is once again dominant here. Flipping the opener on it's head. Stripped entirely of percussion, and with icier synth-work, this feels like a suitable sequel, and a perfect closer to boot. The lack of drums allows the listener to clear their mind and contemplate the beauty they've just been exposed to. Set against the backdrop of a claustrophobic planet, this is an escape from reality we could all use, if only for Twenty-seven minutes and six seconds.

~George Evans (Triplicate Records)