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Reflection (Brian Eno album)

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Reflection
Studio album by
Brian Eno
Released1 January 2017 (2017-01-01)
GenreAmbient
Length
  • ∞ (iOS app)
  • 54:00 (all other media)
LabelWarp
ProducerBrian Eno
Brian Eno chronology
The Ship
(2016) 		Reflection
(2017) 		Mixing Colours
(2020)

Reflection is the twenty-seventh studio album by Brian Eno, released on 1 January 2017 on Warp Records.[1][2] It is a piece of generative ambient music produced by Eno, which plays indefinitely via an app, modulating its output at different times of the day. A pre-recorded version of the album is available on CD and vinyl, which runs for 54 minutes. Digital streaming versions of the album update on a seasonal basis.[3] It was nominated for the 2017 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album and was released to a positive acclaim by critics.

Background

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Reflection was released as part of Eno's series of ambient albums. Its structure is similar to that of Thursday Afternoon (1985), an earlier album of his that consists of a single track that runs for 60 minutes in length. Reflection has a length of 54 minutes.[2] Eno decided on its title as the piece "makes [him] think back. It makes me think things over. It seems to create a psychological space that encourages internal conversation. And external ones actually—people seem to enjoy it as the background to their conversations". He considers the work the most sophisticated of all his ambient releases, and that the physical editions are a mere static excerpt of the "full" piece contained in the iOS app.[4]

Release

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On 1 January 2017, an album listening event was held at several Rough Trade shops worldwide. During the event, an edition of Reflection limited to 500 copies was available on CD, where each disc contained a "uniquely generated, one-of-a-kind" version of the piece inside of an autographed case sleeve.[5]

Subsequently, 1 April, 1 July, and 9 October saw Eno release a new excerpt of the generative piece to streaming services Apple Music and Spotify, with varying lengths (the "autumn" iteration being 65:24 in length.) Each of these seasonal excerpts took the place of the previous version to represent the album. The generative iOS app also received updates on these same days.

Track listing

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Written, recorded, and produced by Brian Eno.[6][7]

CD, vinyl and original digital purchase editions
No.TitleLength
1."Reflection"54:00
Current digital streaming edition[8]
No.TitleLength
1."Reflection"1:05:24

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[9]
Metacritic75/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The A.V. ClubB[12]
Consequence of SoundB[13]
Drowned in Sound9/10[14]
Financial Times[15]
The Guardian[16]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[17]
Pitchfork7.7/10[18]
Slant[19]
Uncut[20]

Upon release, Reflection received positive reviews from critics. Writing for The Guardian, Kitty Empire wrote, "The overall effect is deeply, magnificently peaceful, meditative, even; ambient certainly monopolises certain sections of the thesaurus."[16]

Personnel

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Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]

Additional personnel

Production

  • Matt Colton – mastering at Alchemy Studios
  • Brian Eno – cover image, photography
  • Nick Robertson – layout, design

Charts

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Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 153
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 92
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[24] 107
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ)[25] 7
Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] 60
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 97
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 78
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[29] 9
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[30] 17
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[31] 2

References

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  1. ^ "Brian Eno - Reflection". 15 November 2016.
  2. ^ a b Hilton, Robin (15 November 2016). "Brian Eno To Release New Ambient Album". NPR.
  3. ^ "Brian Eno - Facebook". Facebook. 9 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Brian Eno - Reflection". Brian-Eno.net. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Brian Eno "Reflection" Listening Party". Rough Trade. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b Reflection (Liner notes). Warp Records. 2017. WARPLP280, WARPCD280.
  7. ^ "Brian Eno Reflection". 15 November 2016.
  8. ^ "Reflection". Apple Music. Also available as a digital download purchase from iTunes. January 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Reflection by Brian Eno reviews | Any Decent Music".
  10. ^ "Reviews for Reflection by Brian Eno". Metacritic.
  11. ^ Simpson, Paul. "Brian Eno - Reflection". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  12. ^ Zaleski, Annie (3 January 2017). "Silence speaks volumes on Brian Eno's innovative, tranquil Reflection". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  13. ^ Corcoran, Nina. "Brian Eno – Reflection – The icon creates 54 minutes of seamless ambient music that asks listeners to look inward". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  14. ^ Cole, Dan. "Brian Eno - Reflection". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  15. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (29 December 2016). "Brian Eno: Reflection — review". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  16. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (1 January 2017). "Brian Eno: Reflection review – soothing, but sobering". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  17. ^ Riby, Scott. "Brian Eno returns with yet more tranquil brilliance on Reflection". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  18. ^ Beta, Andy. "Brian Eno - Reflection – Eno's new ambient piece readily slots along works like the dreamlike Thursday Afternoon and 2012's stately Lux. It feels the most pensive of his ambient works, flowing across 54 unbroken minutes". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  19. ^ Wroble, Jonathan (31 December 2016). "Brian Eno - Reflection". Slant. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  20. ^ In this case, sustained synth notes and chimes entwine to create a meditative environment that, while no longer as revolutionary as Discreet Music once seemed, is just as serene. [Feb 2017, p.26]
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Brian Eno – Reflection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Brian Eno – Reflection" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  23. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Brian Eno – Reflection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  24. ^ "Brian Eno". Oricon. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  25. ^ "NZ Heatseekers Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Brian Eno – Reflection". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  29. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  30. ^ "Brian Eno Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  31. ^ "Brian Eno Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
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