Été/Hiver (Summer/Winter) is the debut collaboration from Allan J. Kimmel (aka Departure Street) and Francisco Sanfuentes (aka Sonidos Precarios).


Allan J. Kimmel and Francisco Sanfuentes combined efforts to bring you Été​/​Hiver. They mention “This is an alternative ambient album that perhaps can best be described as on the edge of ‘dark' ambient. It was recorded during the summer in Paris and the winter in Santiago, hence the title (summer/winter).”

The album contains eight songs and after listening to this album I don’t think dark would be one of the main words I would use to describe it although I did understand that label. I thought the album as a whole felt cerebral, pensive and heavy.

Up first is “Across the Darkness Like Dandelion Seeds” and it takes advantage of reverb tales and elements which coalesce to form what feels like a passing memory. It seems to be all guitar work and I thought the panning was very well done which creates a lot of stereo depth.

“Foggy” felt like music that could be used in a show like Game of Thrones. It feels cold and distant. If you close your eyes while listening you might picture a drone flying over a snowy mountain landscape.

One of my favorite tracks was “Lonely As a Cloud.” I tend to enjoy soundscapes which blur lines of emotional energy and this does that. It sounded similar to one of the tracks from the recent Jon Hopkins album Music For Psychedelic Therapy.

“A Single Source of Light” felt like the opposite of dark to me. This track felt full of light like the title implies. Delayed guitar is the focal point and there are some well done-dynamics in this song. “The First Sign of Woe” was an interesting one. The sounds sort of evolve and dissipate in this song. It can feel serene and chaotic at times. “A Change in the Wind” felt like another song with a neutral emotional quality not unlike Amon Tobin while “Lost In A Dream” is as advertised.

The album closes with an almost twelve-minute track entitled “Memories of a Good for Nothing.”It's a great but haunting soundscape and again has a cold feeling to it like you are in the arctic.

​I’m familiar with some of Kimmel and Sanfuentes’ previous work and this felt like the most realized work to date. For fans of artists like Windy & Carl, Fennesz and the aforementioned artists I think this album will quickly become an essential to your collection.

- Matt Jensen, Divide and Conquer