"Painting Sky Together" is the second album from Polish sound artist Tomasz Bednarczyk. His music could loosely be described as electronic or ambient, yet it exudes so much warmth and personality that such definitions seems irrelevant. Rich tones and textures are punctuated with light electronic samples and crackles to yield a very intimate and inviting musical space. Bednarczyk is also willing (and able) to follow a variety of paths through his music, and each of the nine pieces on the album explore different sounds and ideas, yet still manage to flow fluidly into one another. Following him on his journey is its own reward, as each time through will reveal new layers of beauty.

Bednarczyk's compositions are quite minimal and it seems like there's not a wasted note throughout. The track, "So Fragile," for example, contains little more than a repeating keyboard motif sliced up by electronic glitches. Even with so little in the song, the sound is surprising full as the sounds seemingly echo off of one another. Another great piece of minimalism is "January," which focuses on electric piano. On this song, Bednarczyk relies on layering and repetition to create a dense mix based on a simple piano line. Certainly, he is no one-trick pony, as he also makes expert use of field recordings, and "January" fades into the sounds of voices and cars passing. His dexterity with found sound is also evidenced by tracks like "Tokyo" and "A Bus-Ride With A Red-Haired Girl." "Tokyo" in particular creates a perfect balance between sounds of wind, water, birds, and footsteps along with a pulsing undercurrent of soft drones. In many ways, its a lot like a nature walk with a great soundtrack. Somewhat differently, "A Bus-Ride" allows ringing, fuzzy electric guitar chords into the forefront, yet punctuates them with light samples of chirping birds. These songs certainly present the basic elements of Bednarczyk's work, yet the rest of the album is full of unique and surprising twists on these ideas.

This album is somewhat deceptive in that it functions perfectly well as a piece of background music, yet it reveals so much more through close listening. There's a lot that could remain hidden without the aide of a good pair of headphones and some serious attention. By all means, it is worth the extra time to soak up every bit of what this music has to offer. 8/10 -- Matt Blackall (27 May, 2009)