We Speak Music
Suntapes’ Travel Motion Is a Masterclass in Ambient Storytelling
Belgian ambient architect Tomas Johan Kristian Vanderplaetse, aka Suntapes, has delivered his most refined, atmospheric statement to date with Travel Motion. Known for merging acoustic piano textures with analogue electronics and global instruments, Suntapes continues to dissolve genre boundaries while maintaining an emotional intimacy that’s increasingly rare in ambient music. This latest full-length record feels less like a collection of tracks and more like an ecosystem—lush, cinematic, and deeply immersive.
The album’s strength lies in its remarkable sonic detail and the sense of place it conjures. Tracks like “Overland” and “Plaza” are layered but never cluttered, using warm Schimmel pianos, Mellotron flutes, and Hofner basses to cultivate an atmosphere of quiet grandeur. There’s a restraint to these compositions—nothing overstays its welcome, yet every element feels vital, like it’s been chosen with an archivist’s care. It’s easy to forget how rare that is.
What’s most striking about Travel Motion is the integration of Vanderplaetse’s classical side, with four compositions credited under his full name. Pieces like “Motion” and “Fathom” unfold with an almost Satie-like sparseness, evoking emotional movement through repetition and minimalism rather than dramatic crescendo. The classical grounding adds gravitas, keeping the album from floating into background-music territory.
But Suntapes never settles into predictability. “Varkala,” with its tanpura drones and Indian harmonium, adds a spectral, meditative richness that expands the record’s textural palette. Similarly, “Galiano” finds beauty in stillness, its thumb piano and ruan textures drawing influence from Vanderplaetse’s field recordings and personal travels. This is not just ambient music—it’s music of memory and place.
The closer, “Cavern,” delves into the darker side of that memory. With its low-register piano and swelling organ drones, it hints at existential awe, a descent into subterranean dreamspace. Rather than closing with resolution, Travel Motion ends with ambiguity—a reminder that movement is ongoing, and inner landscapes often defy cartography.
Suntapes isn’t reinventing ambient music here, but he is subtly expanding its emotional vocabulary. In Travel Motion, he’s mapped not just physical destinations, but the spaces between feeling and reflection. It’s an album to live inside.
Swiss artist Fanny Alexandra returns with “Black Pearl Summer”, a new single that finds her exploring a more open side of her alternative sound. Released via Now Listen, the track combines coastal imagery with a story about growing through grief, pressure and the experiences that can shape a person over time.
Alexandra notes that the song is relatively summery by her own standards. She has said that her music is usually darker and that she has never been particularly drawn to the typical idea of summer, preferring cold air, jackets and rugged coastlines. That gives the release a clear sense of personality from the outset.
The song centres on Alexandra’s reflections on being 19 and spending years focused on survival rather than fully living. Those experiences are presented through the image of a black pearl, which becomes a way of considering how something worthwhile can emerge from a challenging period.
What makes the track particularly effective is the balance between its subject matter and its musical approach. The production gives the song room to breathe, while Alexandra keeps the focus firmly on the story she is telling. It means the track can be enjoyed as a seasonal release while still offering more to discover in the lyrics.
There is also a clear sense of change in the way Alexandra approaches her younger self. The song is not about returning to that period or trying to erase it. Instead, it considers what can be learned from experiences that once felt overwhelming.
“Black Pearl Summer” therefore offers newcomers a useful introduction to Alexandra’s work. It shows an artist comfortable writing about serious subjects, while also demonstrating a lighter musical side that may not be as familiar to listeners who know her darker material.
It is an interesting glimpse of what Alexandra can do when she lets a little more light into the picture.
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