Brian Eno - Reflection
Brian Eno's Reflection app is like the musical version of Willy Wonka's Everlasting Gob Stopper, providing an endless supply of something you really like, all the way until it ends, which of course it never does.
Developed by Peter Chilvers, who also created the iPhone applications Bloom and Trope with Brian Eno, the Reflections app utilizes something called “Mutation Software”, or at least that's what it says in the credits, producing what is essentially an endless Brian Eno album as opposed to one that ends after fifty minutes or so.
Finite versions of Reflection are available via Eno's website in Vinyl, CD and various digital formats, but the deluxe generative version I'm listening to is really where it's at at this point I think, especially if you like ambient music, a type of music that tries to sound different every time it's played anyway.
The music itself certainly doesn't sound like it's being cobbled together at random, instead it naturally evolves over time with each piece lasting just about as long as it seems to need to last. There's one particular sound that keeps reminding me of the opening note of Tomita's version of Clair De Lune, but other than that nothing really stands out as being overly repetitive.
I'm presuming the app would be capable of being updated with new sounds from time to time, and that would make a lot of sense for a product designed to deliver an artists music that isn't confined to a static medium. The app already generates slightly different versions depending on the time of day, so maybe it will sound different when Spring replaces Winter. I've only been listening to it since this afternoon so who knows what even tomorrow morning will bring
While writing this the Clair De Lune sound that seemed to be standing out too much, at least to my ear, is now being presented in conjunction with other sounds that minimizes its impact in the mix, subtly altering the statement it was making earlier.
I'm not sure at this point, having only been listening for a couple of hours, exactly how much the music will change over time.
Only time will tell.