On September 13th, Gondwana Records will release returning, dream, the second album by Paradise Cinema, a project led by multi-instrumentalist Jack Wyllie (Portico Quartet/Szun Waves). The album features contributions from Khadim Mbaye, Tons Sambe, and Laurence Pike and represents a shift from the Mbalax rhythms of Wyllie’s 2020 debut.
While Wyllie’s earlier work oscillates between electronica, minimalism, and ambient sounds, returning, dream delves into influences from Jon Hassell, Terry Riley, Don Cherry, and Midori Takada. The album also draws from contemporary electronic and ambient music, as well as the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics, which proposes multiple branching realities.
Wyllie explains that this new work imagines music from alternate times and spaces, inspired by quantum physics and science fiction. “The album explores what music might sound like in different worlds, reflecting on multiple versions of histories and societies,” he says.
Recorded in London, Dakar, and Sydney, returning, dream features a blend of unusual sounds. Highlights include ‘a morning in the near future,’ which combines flute, synths, and Tama drums, and the title track, evoking dreamlike memory journeys. Other tracks such as ‘Python’ and ‘Nowhere home’ offer rich, textured experiences, while ‘night search’ delivers an energetic climax with propulsive drums and euphoric saxophone.
