RdL is a Japanese duo, was formed in 1999 by Mondii (who runs labels SPEKK, PLOP, Lantern) and Naph (working as sound engineer). They are playing instrumental music which I would consider in a similar vein as Six Parts Seven, Dif Juz, Eisi, Penguin Cafe Orchestra or early records by Tristeza or Collections of Colonies of Bees.
"Decades Away From Home. …" is their first album and it follows participations on several compilation on labels like Staubgold, Odd Shaped Case or Spekk. Their music is very natural, it seems like they don't want to belong to a particular genre, it could have been recorded ten, twenty years ago or just yesterday. It doesn't matter.
There is something playful in their music, not a cathartic perspective, no prospective explorations of new expressions, no plans to leave you speechless, Rdl is something for the weekend, something to listen to while preparing food and eating with friends or family. It took them ten years to finish this debut album and for some time they even existed as a seven piece.
I think the fact this album had been conceived during ten years make it impossible to find a necessary coherence. On each track, you have elements of intense beauty but their essence is diluted in a process where time washed out , even if not all, but a good part, of the original intuitions and emotions.
I wish they could record a more focused record, in a short lapse of time, mood and inspiration, like running to the top of a hill and enjoy both the view and the effect of endorphins.
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