Eric Soltys is a Canadian (BC) electronic artist who has an uncommonly good ear and a knack for creating simple but emotionally punchy instrumental compositions, and making them sound just terrific in the process.

His new full-length album Luminous deserves plenty of attention, but I’m not sure it really bears picking apart track by track, because in truth, it plays like a singular, self contained document.

At barely over 30 minutes in length, these 11 tracks fly by, and they stitch together so well that you won’t really be sure where one ends and the next begins, though there’s a definite character and progression at play in the track order.

Stitched together with a shockingly effective cello sound and no shortage of symphonic swells and dramatic dynamics play, it feels like sitting in lotus on a cliff at the edge of a majestic ravine - epic in scale, but tranquil in its overall vibe. This record breathes, shimmers, and calls to something in us that doesn’t live at the surface.

As you reach the “darker” stretch in the center of the track list, beginning with “Shadows Encroach” and ending with “Glimmer in Darkness” you’ll feel the vibe tilt ever so slightly heavier, but you get the sense that this is an artist who finds beauty, and a reason to smile, in even the bleaker moments.

Then we’re at “Rising Embers” and begin the climb back to the light. It’s a beautiful journey, and a digestible one for the casual listener.