Once in a while we can appreciate the idea that the less words spoken, the more that can be said. Wordlessness allows for our imagination to take over and for our senses to awaken in a time where we have forgotten how to feel – a lot of music these days are quite explicit in how we are to appreciate them.
Our innermost self rises to the challenge of putting meaning to something that simply dumbfounds us. The essence of a creators skills and hidden truths are captured in a brief moment of inspiration, known as a song. It is our job to make sense of it all, by deciphering a code that has no solution.
Now for a change of pace. Brace yourself for one hell of an abstract experience with Feral Media’s Autumn EP.
Escape the mundane chaos of reality and enter the ludicrously pleasant disarray of ambient with Sydney based record label Feral Media’s fourth and final installment of the Seasons series, showcasing tracks from Angel Eyes, Lower Spectrum, (Happy Favourites) Golden Blonde and Comatone. While listening to the EP don’t be tempted to expect the unexpected – just go with the flow as you embark upon your enlightened voyage across the two-faced high seas.
Like a scene from a future noir film, Angel Eyes drops you straight into the darkest realms of no return with Smitten. It is a track true to the Dark Ambient era, bearing more than a few similarities to Mick Harris and Sandbar David Wonder, with its rich and unsettling warped synths. The eerie samples and ominous voices create the feel that lingering trepidations are ready to clasp hold of you tight – the tapping against a matte surface instilling a cold vitality through your very core. This time warp of emotional turmoil is one of the most alluring yet unnerving opening tracks I have ever come across. I’m afraid your greatest fears will became a reality the moment you decide to trek alone into the dangerous unknown of Smitten.
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If you hadn’t already fallen to the depths of ego death, descend further in awe with Melbournians Lower Spectrum’s Fall – classical instrumentals meet Ambient House in a similar four to the floor style to Orbital, Future Sound of London and Sven Väth. The crisp classical guitar riffs and ringing piano lines, decorated by the multitude of synth, creates a dichotomic feel of a Space Odyssey, journeying into Alice’s mystical and dangerously beguiling Wonderland.
As the song progresses, the slapping and cascading synth beats surrounded by the vibrant cathedral organ, steers you further and further away from the norm. The discovery of a cynical danceability in this condensed atmospheric space presents a very autumnal battle between night and day.
Hollow House Will Never Fill Itself by Golden Blonde meets a strange medium – half industrial, half the electronic pop that we expect from the four piece. Striking wood-on-metal percussion, experimentally messy, threatening mechanical vocals – the final moments of this track unleashing an identity truer than it’s true self. Interestingly, it kind of reminds me of Skins’ opening tune by Segal.
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Moving Along Away From It by Comatone is an accomplished fusion of rock and electronic music, as though God Is An Astronaut decided to invest in a TB-303. Its harsh ambient trance gives you a very futuristic vibe as you face an unstoppable time lapse. For those who take time to settle into an unfamiliar environment, I might suggest listening to the album from the last track to the first.
If only all my countless hours tapping away on Garage Band with the synth pads amounted to an album like this. Knowing that all these random, seemingly nonsensical sounds only need the right combination to sound otherworldly is a sure-fire way to keep any aspiring musician motivated.
Ambient might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I mean it took me a while to get my head around it all and to thoroughly appreciate what I was hearing. But I tried my best to situate myself in the song and the rest is history. Now the time has come – are you ready to challenge your mind in a continuum of ambience? Listen to the Autumn EP. Happy dares you.
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▲ BANDCAMP ▲ FACEBOOK ▲ FERAL MEDIA
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