Rudy Adrian – Along The Coppermine Ridge (Spotted Peccary, 2025)
Ambient composer Rudy Adrian returns with Along The Coppermine Ridge, a landscape-inspired album that draws directly from his New Zealand roots and long-standing fascination with the natural world. The eleven-track release focuses on spacious, slowly unfolding sound worlds with dreamlike currents of sound that mirror forests, mountains, and changing skies.
Opener “Castle Rocks” introduces the album with gentle piano figures and airy atmospheres that hint at mist over a rocky outlook. “Moorlands” stretches into a broad horizon of subtle drones and chiming accents, while “Alpine Tarn” places bright, bell-like sounds over a steady pulse that suggests cold, high-altitude stillness. Throughout the record, Adrian introduces gradual shifts generated by synthesizers, wooden flutes, and voice.
Adrian, who grew up in New Zealand, cites noted nature photographer John Johns, whose work is held by the New Zealand National Museum and once drew praise from Ansel Adams, as a key influence on Along The Coppermine Ridge. The album aims to parallel Johns’ photographic studies of landscape, translating fleeting moments of awe in nature into extended, contemplative pieces.
Nature has deeply influenced Adrian’s work since his early days making electronic music while studying Forestry Science at the University of Canterbury and later Botany at the University of Otago. Along The Coppermine Ridge is his 10th release on Spotted Peccary. Previous recordings include MoonWater, Desert Realms, Distant Stars, Atmospheres, Coastlines, Woodlands, As Dusk Becomes Night, A Walk In The Shadow Garden, Reflections On A Moonlit Lake, and Beyond The Sleepy Hills.
Tracks:
- Castle Rocks (3:12)
- Ridgetop Clouds (8:20)
- The Higher Path (3:41)
- Where the Skylarks Sing (2:56)
- Memories of Thursday (5:13)
- Along the Coppermine Ridge (6:32)
- Moorlands (5:46)
- Serpentine River (10:02)
- Alpine Tarn (4:32)
- Autumn Snow (4:32)
- Showers in the Ranges (7:19)