Welcome back to Reviews from the Aural Realms, a series from Other Worlds Than These where I share music and artists that resonate deeply with me—sonically, spiritually, and creatively.
In my last review, I explored Life… A Jazz Intervention by Rebecca Harrold.
Today, I’m reviewing Rendering Time, the latest collaboration between electronic ambient visionary Deborah Martin and renowned oboist Jill Haley
Discovery & First Impressions
This one has actually been sitting on my desk for a few weeks now. Between sessions for my next big project, I kept telling myself, “Don’t just skim this one — wait until you can really listen.” And I’m glad I did. An album like Rendering Time deserves patience, presence, and a clear head — the kind of listen where you can truly hear the spaces between the notes. I wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way.
I know I’ve heard music by Deborah Martin and Jill Haley before — though I can’t quite place when or where. Maybe it was late one night, drifting through a Spotted Peccary sampler, or in one of those quiet moments where ambient and acoustic worlds collide. Either way, when I saw their names together again, it felt like reconnecting with two familiar voices whose work has always lived somewhere in the background of my listening life.
Their new collaboration, Rendering Time, continues the creative thread from The Silence of Grace and Into the Quiet, yet feels even more intimate. There’s a striking equilibrium here — Jill’s expressive oboe and English horn lines intertwining with Deborah’s lush, cinematic atmospheres. Together, they build soundscapes that feel both ancient and new, full of breath, motion, and quiet wonder. It’s ambient music, yes — but more than that, it’s alive. Each track unfolds like a meditation on presence itself, a gentle celebration of the moments that make up time.
Track-by-Track Reflections
🌀 All of the songs featured below are part of the official Reviews from the Aural Realms Playlist on Spotify. Dive in and listen along.
1. Rendering Time
Right from the opening track, I was pulled into an atmosphere that feels both familiar and otherworldly. Jill Haley’s oboe — one of my favorite instruments — glides effortlessly through Deborah Martin’s ambient textures, like a voice calling through mist. There’s a metallic resonance beneath it, almost like softly struck steel drums or temple bells echoing in the distance. It’s calm, meditative, and abstract, with no clear melodic anchor — just drifting tones and layered harmonics that seem to float in suspension. The effect is quietly mesmerizing, a soundscape that invites you to simply be inside it.
2. Space Within Spaces
This piece feels more structured, though it never loses that ambient weightlessness. The harmonies are gentle but more defined, like small ripples forming within a vast still pond. Where “Rendering Time” felt like discovery through exploration, this one feels like observation — a slow, deliberate unfolding of melody and motion. There’s an emotional undercurrent that suggests both order and freedom coexisting in the same breath.
3. Cenote (Place of Deep Water)
As the title suggests, this one immerses you completely. The sound design feels cavernous — reflective, reverberant, and beautifully enclosed — like floating in a hidden cenote where light filters through the surface in scattered beams. The tones shimmer and drift, echoing softly against imagined stone walls. Listening, I could easily picture myself retreating from the world, submerged in calm, protected silence. It’s meditative, soothing, and deeply cinematic — easily one of my favorites on the album.
4. From Source
“From Source” carries a primal, almost tribal rhythm beneath its ambient wash. The percussion feels steady and grounded, while the voices — wordless and spectral — weave in and out like ancient echoes. It’s easy to lose track of time here; the hypnotic pulse keeps you suspended between movement and meditation. The piece feels ancestral, as though it’s speaking in a forgotten language, channeling something eternal. It’s one I can easily imagine leaving on repeat while I work — a companion piece for focus and reflection alike.
5. Fitful Dreams
This one shifts the tone — more energy, more motion. The opening arpeggio pattern feels like movement through space, spiraling forward with a quiet intensity. Deeper tones swell beneath, giving the piece weight without pulling it down. I love the contrast here — kinetic yet serene, mechanical yet organic. It’s another strong example of how Deborah and Jill balance structure with spontaneity, emotion with experimentation.
6. Shadow of the Moon
Here the textures turn darker, more diffuse. A strummed guitar adds rhythm and warmth to the ambient layers, while Haley’s winds drift like moonlight over still water. I’ll admit, this one didn’t capture me as strongly as some of the others — not because it’s lacking, but because it blends so seamlessly into the surrounding pieces. Still, it adds an essential transition point in the journey, a moment of shadow before the light returns.
7. This Place We Call Home
A return to melodic grounding, this track feels almost orchestral at times — strings swelling gently beneath the oboe’s clear, emotive voice. There’s tenderness here, a quiet gratitude that feels like coming home after long travel. It’s a beautiful counterbalance to the more abstract tracks, and one that lingers in its simplicity.
8. Soaring
As the title implies, this one lifts you upward. The piece feels like an experiment in flight — weightless layers of sound spiraling higher, searching for open sky. It’s another track that emphasizes the album’s exploratory nature. Honestly, Rendering Time as a whole feels like one grand experiment in sound and space, and this track captures that spirit perfectly.
9. Secrets of the Talking Trees
Now this one grabbed me right away. The sound design genuinely places you in the heart of a forest — you can almost hear the branches creak and the air move between the leaves. The oboe melodies feel like the voice of nature itself, whispering in tones you can feel more than understand. It’s atmospheric, earthy, and meditative, and I immediately knew it belonged on my Aural Realms playlist.
10. Sunlight and Starlight
A gorgeous closing track. It opens with soft bell tones that sparkle like starlight, then expands into rich guitar and oboe interplay that feels warm and luminous. The ebb and flow between mystery and clarity mirrors the duality of its title — light and shadow, day and night, the passing of time itself. The ending returns to a hushed, mysterious tone, as if the stars are fading out just before dawn. It’s the perfect way to close the album — serene, reflective, and full of quiet wonder.
Final Thoughts
I genuinely enjoyed Rendering Time. The mix of oboe and ambient soundscapes throughout is masterful — a pairing that feels both unexpected and completely natural. This is an album that works beautifully as a continuous experience; each track flows effortlessly into the next, creating one long, unbroken meditation on presence and sound.
While no single track stands far above the rest for me, that’s not a weakness — it’s a testament to how cohesive and intentional this project is. It feels like a single continuous journey, where every stop matters, and no moment overstays its welcome.
This is music I can easily imagine keeping close — something to unwind to, or to let play softly while I work or reflect. Deborah Martin and Jill Haley have once again proven their ability to merge the organic and the electronic into something timeless. Rendering Time doesn’t demand your attention — it earns it quietly, one breath at a time.
About the Artists
Deborah Martin
For more than three decades, Deborah Martin has captivated listeners with her ambient and cinematic approach to composition. An award-winning artist and producer, she continues to craft music that transcends genre boundaries, blending electronic textures with emotional depth and evocative storytelling. Her work often explores themes of memory, myth, and timeless landscapes—sonic journeys that invite reflection and wonder. Rendering Time marks the 23rd project in her extensive discography and continues her creative partnership with Jill Haley, following their acclaimed Spotted Peccary releases The Silence of Grace (2021) and Into The Quiet (2023).
Jill Haley
Jill Haley is an oboist, English horn player, pianist, and composer whose music is deeply inspired by the natural world. Often serving as an Artist-in-Residence within the U.S. National Parks, Jill composes pieces that reflect the landscapes she experiences while living among them. A seasoned orchestral performer, educator, and church musician, she also appears frequently as a guest artist at Will Ackerman’s Imaginary Road Studios, with recordings produced by Corin Nelsen and Tom Eaton. Her many solo and collaborative albums include Glacier Landscapes, Zion and Bryce Canyon Soundscapes, The Winds of Badlands, The Forests and Shores of Acadia, The Silence of Grace, and Into The Quiet.
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