Sculpted in real time out of processed guitar, the five tracks that make up Dirk Serries’ Disorientation Flow are rich and warm, waves in constant ebb and flow. Serries’ time-slowing style, coaxing notes and emotion patiently out of his instrument, creates an overall atmosphere that almost demands low-volume looping, but break out the headphones first. Up close, you can peer into the way he lays down strands of sound and weaves them together. Then, take the buds out of your ears and play it at higher volume to get a nice tactile hit from the resonance of the guitar layers. Although it’s quite like classic rise-and-fall ambient there’s a distinct, drawn-out sense of melody and harmony at work, combine that with a sort of minimalist structure of repeated phrases that slowly shift over time. These five mid-length tracks, covering just over an hour, don’t vary much in approach or construct, but the sameness never becomes a concern because they’re all so immersive and rich. If it wasn’t for the pause between tracks, you’d never really feel the shift–and that’s not a bad thing. In fact, the quiet between songs becomes a listening moment itself, waiting for the next notes to rise and form. This is a release to put on loop and just let it go for several hours, maybe a day…two… It’s deceptively simple sounding on the surface, but as you go deeper into it, it gives up its sonic truths and shows a lot of thought, heart, and soul. Superb work from Serries, as always.

Available from Projekt.