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Wind and Wire
Dene Bebbington |
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The artists performing on Electronic Forest are new to me, I only wish I'd heard some of their recordings before because this is the kind of ambient music I'm getting increasingly enamoured with. This album is a great example of what I like to call immersion music as it works best when you can take time out just to immerse yourself in the music and let it suggest mental images consonant with the somewhat spooky sounds. Fourteen tracks, most of which roll into each other but also have their own identity, make up the album which is split into two suites separated by the sixth track "Capricious" (incidentally, the only one to contain vocals). It's difficult to tell all the instruments that are used, I get the impression that synths have been complemented by some processed sounds and effects. Layers of drifting reverbing sounds coupled with background drones go together to create soundscapes with an emotional edginess to them. Mostly it's a case of textured, sometimes quite abstract, flowing sounds but on occasion there's also a subtle melody lurking in there too. One thing I particularly like about Electronic Forest is the way it combines the sensibilities of minimal drifting ambient with a good variety of sonic expressions and feelings. Consider something like Thom Brennan's work coupled with the more processed offerings of Diatonis and you'll have some idea of the style to expect from this album. "Capricious" is for me the most interesting piece, though that's not to say the other tracks aren't interesting and good listening. Anyway, after some blistering effects it settles down to where drones form a background against which a piano plays hauntingly, and eventually ghostly female vocals (by Tatiana Brainerd) come and go. I couldn't help but imagine this track being the soundtrack to a scene in a film where someone walks through a large deserted house, possibly remembering times spent there in the past. It's a very atmospheric piece. Electronic Forest is a great example of flowing and layered ambient music that takes the listener on a journey through mind and sound, offering a vision to this reviewer of a spooky forest partly distorted by fog. It skilfully walks the line between overt darkness or lightness; listening to it is like entering a dream state where some things are only fuzzily recognisable. Ambient fans should relish it. |
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