Label: Aleph Zero Records
Released: 2007

01. Retroscape
02. Transmissions In Bloom
03. Odd Reflections
04. One Step Closer
05. After Silence
06. Invention
07. Mia Nihta Mono Den Ftani
08. Eternal Bliss Of The Grateful Souls

Shulman is for sure one of the best projects of the scene of psybient, psychill, psyworld or no matter how other name this scene have. This is the fact widely known from the moment, when Israeli duo Omri Harpaz - Yaniv Shulman have released its first CD. After "Soundscapes And Modern Tales" (2002) and "In Search Of A Meaningful Moment" (2003), and also quasi-album "Random Thoughts" (2006), in the fourth quarter of 2007 these musicians released its next material titled "Endless Rhythms Of The Beatless Heart". After listening to it, I personally definitively confirmed the belief, that not even Shulman's work will be exist in the history of this music for all time, but also in my own world.

In "Random Thoughts" Shulman revealed part of the sound which for the new defined its history, because before Shulman was judged as the "worse brother" of British Shpongle on which Shulman overtly followed the examples. That signal released in "Random Thoughts" (that at times can be found also in duo's first two albums), in this CD is contained in six of eight tracks. That signal was to show a psychedelia in borders of romanticism (in dimension of emotions) and jazz (in technical frames; though Shulman music is very eclectic of course, in jazz probably found its best reflection). Sounds cute, like a sweet, infantile. It's true. But simply the duo, and the other musicians who participated in building of this CD, successfully created from this something really artistically ambitious, and not only the music for the masses that could be liked by everyone. The album contain plenty ideas that could be described with a passion. But I'll focus - besides general outlines - on these of them that with outstanding way are intriguing after the first listening, and in time of another listenings - are fascinating.

First composition - "Retroscape" - quite calm turn us into the album. We have here two remarkably elements. First of them is a modified with electronica male vocal that can be described as childish - it will be the truth - but at the same time is so smoothly fitted tight to the second element and the whole atmosphere of the track that mentioned infantilism works with a smile; it's shows us that excellent artists from the relatively poor aspect can create beautiful thing. The second element I want to say about is a very, very long melody played on organ (its first loop is in partition between 6:46 - 7:16). This makes a really impression on me not only because it's charming in oneself, but also because mentioned fact of the perfect fitting to the vocal, and above all: from that simple reason that I even want to hum it in thoughts (what's strange, while in general I don't hum in thoughts so often).

The second track - "Transmissions In Bloom" - is practically a new quality in Shulman's music, maybe rather its clearest confirmation. While we had before in "Random Thoughts" album some sound structures that on this CD are rulling even like a dictator, "Transmissions In Bloom" composition - the greatest specimen - brings in every inch the nature of the album and maybe the nature of the entire music by this project. I speak maybe not so clear so I go through to concretes. The way, when the guitar melody is entering the track in 1:50, is one of the most marvelous feelings I have ever experienced with the music. That light guitar come in with assist of warm pad, bass and percussion so fluently, that I could spent minutes on a standing ovation for these Israeli artists. But the melody still remain in memory, and when we will next time listen to it through another session of the album, we can experience the same in the same intensity - this always have its charm, magic, as always human's driving force will be the hope. Only this one fragment cause an exceptional joy, but after all it's just a small patch of the whole CD so imagine the whole joy. I was searching for some good words that could describe it. I haven't found any.

Next, in "Odd Reflections", the duo shows us rather this what is known for, but I'll add abstractly that they do that so perfectly, as never before. While this third track don't have so big charisma as previous two, its individuals - f.e. entering of jazz motives - also became embedded in the memory. Next two tracks are heading into the future, so it's worth to say now that tracks number six and seven are similiar in form to "Odd Reflections". We return on those to the bosom of pure joy. Romanticism in "Invention" - track number six - highlight for the first time after the second minute when pleasing saxophone starts. And when saxophone start in 6:46 then I want to weep for joy. The quality of percussion's work, that is after a moment our companion, finally confirm also a characteristic of tranceness of these sounds - tranceness, what is the most important thing of everything: willingness, our honest willingness to come back "to". And the seventh production - "Mia Nihta Mono Den Ftani" - is the tale of lovers wroted with a stream of hot sounds. "Odd Reflections", "Invention" and right before mentioned track are the typical shulmanish work and in my opinion it's good that in that not other proportions this kind of sound was presented on this album. That romanticism is definied in those three mainly from the old musical ideas of the duo, first two tracks brings something new to it.

Great inspiration for Shulman certainly was The Future Sound Of London. "One Step Closer", the track contained in the fourth track, and also the next one titled "After Silence", are breaking romanticism sounds for the vision of the future. "One Step Closer" is changing the romanticism in its early phaze into the future, incidentally the other way we have in the end of "After Silence" - what in sum up shows us how this album was polished in aspect of passages from one musical picture to another. But also we now touch probably the only bad point of the CD: lacks a total cohesion. Despite everything, two futuristic tracks not harmonize here, especially in the middle of the album like this one. This is a very subjective feeling, but unfortunately it is. But what about the composition? Its being reminds mi FSOL's "ISDN" album, because with apocalypticism we have a jazz. The track sound then quite dark. Begin isolate - sounds leaves preparing for the phenomenal: masterpiece, which is "After Silence". Masterpiece of art, yes. Consciously, I will describe the sound of this composition as a fusion of Ishq and FSOL worlds. Through crystalline sounds of "After Silence" spoke to us a feeling of being lost, fear, futuristic kind of worry or concern about something which we don't know today.

We have still one composition, from the eighth track. I have regret that it lasts only five minutes. "Eternal Bliss Of The Grateful Souls" may sounds in the beginning like not having a depths. It have a very simple melody and its ambient joy may not suit for the end like this album or any Shulman's album. But behind the sounds is hiding other landscape that rise in mind especially in the second part of the track. In other words: first notes are quite cheerful and then are morphing into "the secret" that had one specific track from "Dead Cities" album by FSOL. So it isn't an empty track, is like a beautiful autumn in my opinion, though I would hear what could happen next, after the fifth minute. We have nearly four minutes to reach to the technical border of the disc, quite sad is that the limit wasn't filled with some more minutes from this composition.

"Endless Rhythms Of The Beatless Heart" is more than 76 minutes of sounds created with big-heart, a lot of work was putted into it. It was worth to wait for, however, I personally didn't expected so good effect. This is that type of album that isn't boring even after many listenings. It's like the best Israeli goa albums in which depths we can go into this level we want: this can be a normal music that will be played along dancing, writing, etc. But can be also a place for mind to explore curious visions of cosmos, or - like in this case - romanticism (and future). "Endless Rhythms Of The Beatless Heart" is a kind of album that for sure will widen the circle of lovers of psybient and similiar styles of the music, because it's simple for reception, but simultaneously have some spices, that could be discovered even by adorers of deep ambient and can be relished, relished and one more time relished by this whole, beautiful eclectic collection of flowers picked up from the meadow called the art of the music and what was proudly presented to us by Omri Harpaz and Yaniv Shulman.