Patience is a virtue. Adrift by Ebauche is an album four years in the making. Some of that, I imagine, was time spent gathering “…location recordings from…Kirirom national park and ancient temples of the Angkor Wat….the breathing waters & wild winds of the rugged northern coastline of Ireland; and the dark & ancient forests of the Carpathian mountains…” Alex Leonard takes these sources and kneads them into eleven tracks that are deep, layered, and immersive. He infuses each of these vistas with their own character, from soft rolling waves to edgier forms laced with implied beats. “Kirirom” blends sound recordings from the park noted above with electronic washes and crystalline notes that sparkle like sunlight through the trees. The tone is bright and soothing. Field recordings on “The Suspension of Consciousness” whisper in our ears as Leonard spools out a hypnotizing minimalist drone with just enough motion to keep a touch of dynamism going. Voices pop out of the misty flow in places, just loud enough to get the attention and then gone before we can make much sense of them. The longest piece on the album at 14 minutes, this one takes you out of the real world for a bit. It eases into “Warmth” to take us even deeper. Light crackling sounds pepper the edges here, and the field recordings make us feel like we’re off in the trees somewhere, far from the path and just taking it all in. “Cover Before Nightfall” pulses and glides itself into a smooth rhythm. Chime tones lend a feel that’s both meditative and exotic. Close your eyes here and listen to how much is going on. The atmosphere is full of flitting sound. It’s very much alive. The energy reaches an apex on “Gonglaing.” Percussion and a chorus of repeating motifs come together with an extra touch of joy; the sound here is uplifting and shiny. It just feels good. On the harder side, “Focal Stop” builds on static and crackles and turns itself into a buzzing sonic barrier in its three-minute span. “Resin” is another noise-oriented piece; listen closely to hear voices lost in the white sound. A slow melody plays out in wavering tones beneath it all. Adrift is at its absolute best in headphones. Up close, the density, subtlety, and attention to minute detail really shines. It works in the open air as well, but my best listens to it have been when I’m able to take in everything that’s going on. And it’s a lot. This is an album I’ve been glad to listen to many times over. It just gets better the more familiar you become with it. Adrift is a work you must hear.

Available from Ebuache’s web site.

 

Steve Roach has been on a fairly prolific streak over the last couple of years that has manifested itself in several incarnations, from deep drifts to back-to-the-begnning analog workouts. With such a spread—which is nothing new for Mr. Roach—there are a lot of familiar sounds and vistas in his canon, which is what makes the beginning of Etheric Imprints very interesting. It’s something we haven’t really heard before: Roach on piano. The first of the four long tracks that make up Etheric Imprints is 29 minutes of Roach playing and manipulating an electric grand piano in real time. Somber in tone and picked out slowly note by patient note, this title track grabs hold of the resonant sounds of each strike on the keys and weaves it into the shifting background. Roach uses this to lead us into a dark and quiet middle section that gives more space to the ambient tones, then lets the piano rise back up. It’s a lovely, shadow-filled and contemplative piece that deserves the attention it’s getting for its perceived deviation from standard Roach course. After the auspicious start, Etheric Imprints explores three other spaces with a stronger common tie to Roach’s expected sounds. But even at that, there are twists. “Indigo Shift” plays with dissonant tones tied into a dark, drifting wall of sound for an interesting, uneasy feel. There’s a very effective stretch just before mid-track, and repeated later, where these twisting rogue tones work against a set of rising pads; it becomes almost a kinetic thing, the two element pushing against each other with growing force. That sense of unease gets stronger here before Roach lets you relax. By comparison, “Holding Light” takes the listener upward, out toward spacemusic territory. I’m reminded of the big starscapes Roach explored in The Magnificent Void. Gentle power, a sense of range and scope, meditative beauty–all in this classic-ambient track. The balance of dark and light is completed on “The Way Forward” as it slowly pieces together a melodic line on swelling chords. Just as the title track worked its way through its story draped in greys and questions, this piece uses brighter tonal hues and a sense of certainty and optimism.

Much will be said of the piano on Etheric Imprints (and already has). It’s funny how a simple switch of approach garners so much discussion. Looking at the album as a whole, Roach once again balances his equation and puts forth a journey with a discernibly different start and finish. And although we begin in “new” territory and wind up in a familiar spot, it is that journey that matters. We go into Etheric Imprints looking to set aside an hour to explore and see, and that is exactly what Roach gives us, as usual.

Available from Steve Roach’s web site.

I am a mere four minutes in to Time Spinners, the one-long-track collaboration between Cousin Silas and the prolific Jack Hertz, and if these guys keep up the Floyd-worthy electro-psychedelia I already can’t get enough of, I am going to love them both forever.

I am twelve minutes in. I have been coasting on thick, sweet clouds of prog-rock exhalations. Cousin Silas has been coaxing cool lines out of his guitar, thick with the sexy curves of the wah-wah and sultry distortion. Hertz continues to redefine the atmosphere with big synth formations. Plus, he’s keeping the pulse steady on percussion. Although I’m no one’s idea of a musician, there was a point where it felt like the rhythms tripped over each other a bit. Right around the ten minute mark. Perhaps it’s a more complex thing than I’m used to, but it just briefly took me out. That moment has passed. We have continued. I am at peace with the flow.

I am twenty minutes in, and I may have stepped out of the consciousness once or twice. There has been nothing to disturb this groove. It’s still very, very Pink Floyd-ish, and that’s a magnificent thing. Cousin Silas has stepped back for a moment to let Hertz lay in some deep synth textures. It’s like the stuff that got me into electronic in the first place, wavering, shimmering lines of tone and high-arcing notes. That feeling of letting the sound pull you thin across the universe. Did I mention that the beat on drums is slow and steady and nicely underplayed? It’s just there like another heartbeat…

I am thirty minutes in and right now it’s all Hertz’s show. He’s laid down a bed of pads and now he’s soloing across it on keys. We have left Earth quite far behind, I am sure. Out here we are just drums and pads and cool. I have surrendered control, and I am happy about that. Ah, here comes Cousin Silas again and that guitar. Clearly, some form of space warp is distorting it. It is seeking out and bringing back thin echoes of “Careful With That Axe, Eugene.”

I am forty minutes in and my brain has pleasantly assumed the consistency of a delightful flan. If anyone has been paying attention, I may have levitated out of my chair at least once. The watery, wavering synths, the subtle beat, the small sounds, the way everything seems to reach for the horizon, the plaintive calls of that guitar…this really is quite the ride. Psychedelic and familiar, deep and soothing, yet still with the edge from those guitar riffs and noodlings. Did I mention the guitar?

I am coming to the end and I know I will be going back in. This blend of prog influences and very meditative flows is perfect. Right now, somewhere after the forty-five minute mark, Hertz is soloing again and I know the sound of the keyboard, it’s a very 60s pop organ sound, but instead of trying to figure out its name I’m just digging on it. The retro feel, they way he’s sliding the sound around my head, the way Silas is picking muted notes over it.

I am forty-nine minutes in out of fifty and I can say without a doubt that I do not want Time Spinners to end. As in, ever. One little click of the button here and I can just loop it, spin Time Spinners one more time. A single listen and I know it’s a personal favorite and probably one of the year’s best. Another few times through should solidify that. Here I go.

Available from Aural Films.

Three sets of live improvisations are served up on Astral Bridges, from collaborators Onewayness (Adam Holquist) and Modulator_ESP (Jez Creek). The term they use for this is “merged sets.” One artist opens each piece, playing solo. The other joins in for a stretch somewhere along the line and they perform as a duet, then the first artist slips out to let the second finish the piece. The music was recorded during four live performances in the fall of 2014. Holquist then compiled and edited the live songs to create these three tracks, which are gently massaged together to create an hour-long set. And believe me, it runs deep. I looked at my iTunes a while into my review listens and saw that I had rolled through this disc more than 10 times–and each time, I was glad to head into it again. If you’re not into a dark feel, the beginning of “Bridge_1” may put you off, which would be a shame. The hard-edged electro-snarls, industrial touches, and serpentine utterances that fill the first few minutes give way to softer pads and a broader, spacier dimension. As the sound spreads out, you take in more of the small detail work that shows throughout this release. Piano and field recording make in interesting incursion into the flow, just one of many sonic surprises in store. After 2o excellent minutes, we are ushered into “Bridge_2,” which is probably my favorite of the three. From the start we are welcomed into what’s pretty much a Berlin School homage. Square-angled sequencer forms immediately build around us, and in time we are given that ever-present flute-like sound to carry a melody. The sequencer has that slightly distorted sound at the edges that makes it feel so sci-fi, and the whole thing is rounded out with absolutely classic choral pads. This is pure 70s electro-goodness, and I fucking love it. When the changeover comes on this one, we shift from that Berlin tone to more of an early analog sound, a desperate Morse Code of rapid tones in a hurried, hypnotic rush. What doesn’t work for me here, and the only thing, really, is that late in the track I get jolted out of my reverie by an assault from big metallic clatters, like someone hammering on a muted gong. As many times as I’ve listened to the track, I know that the sound is foreshadowed early on, but when it gets more aggressively present later…well, as much as I’ve come to accept its presence, let’s call it my least favorite few minutes here. Feels a bit too “let’s get experimental” for me. “Bridge_3” bring us back to those shadowy places full of skittering sounds, but again opens up. The round tones of an electric piano show up, along with a melody on a flute analogue. Bright sequencer lines return as well, trading space with chimes, and over time the piece winds down to a dark and quiet place with a feel approaching stillness. Small sounds outline slow-moving chords to create the sensation of a somewhat uncomfortable dream. It fades out on a rising note, reaching for something you won’t get to before you wake.

Astral Bridges seems to offer something new to hear each time through. The chemistry between Creek and Holquist is seamless, and it shows in how smoothly the changeovers are handled. The only way to tell one artist’s contribution from the other is that, if I am guessing correctly, Creek’s work tends to involve the darker, harder sounds, with Holquist’s offerings tending more toward the ambient and melodic. Even at that, with the exception noted above, no new sound or idea is at all jarring to the flow. The pieces evolve logically and beautifully, and in each long stretch we get a solid array of tone and sensation. There is darkness and energy and contemplation and the sense of discovery as new sounds find birth. An excellent set of rich electronic music from two very talented collaborators.

Available from Ethereal Live.