Ambient Sunday with: Khôra, and Crossbrotha
Ambient Sunday is taking things a touch experimental today with Khôra, and Crossbrotha.
Khôra (Matthew Ramolo) is from Toronto, Canada. There’s a need to break out the dreaded word “shamanistic” since his work has that other worldly feel. He describes himself as “parade of masks, transducer of vibratory geometries, extempore aural revelations, muted ecstasies, stalker of thresholds, scribe of a body exultant in the sound of its unfolding, iota amidst the vast.” I’m suppressing the need to do an eye roll because his work is so good.
Here’s Pneumatic Magic from new double album Gestures of Perception (available on vinyl via Bandcamp).
Pneumatic Magic, like much of the album is heavily layered with a dense sound. This makes it slightly hard going on first listen. But it also has a way in which the beats, hazy dark strangeness entices you into its tribal magic.
It is Ambient but in the loosest sense of creating an atmosphere. You haven’t come here to enjoy yourself or chill. You’re here to be challenged.
This is both constantly evolving sonically and staying the same. The beats provide an almost reassuring sameness through the track. Around that whirls of distorted sound come and then dissolve. Hardly a dance floor sound but definitely a rewarding immersive experience
Next, Crossbrotha from Switzerland. Taking more of a hip hop starting point this blends abstract sounds with a bit of early Burial spectral vocals.
Eclipse is the new track. It may even be their first. Information is hard to come by. So let’s focus on the sounds.
A delicately mournful piano offers the main lead in the track. It’s surrounded by digital shuffle beats and various vocal elements. The vocals use both pitch and reverb. Normally, this would have me reaching for the off switch. But in this case they’ve been carefully and sensitively handled. They form an integral offset for the piano but also its companion piece.
This is ambient abstract hip hop but with an almost sense of deep house tricks. It’s a really lovely combination of rich soothing sounds as well as something that has an edginess about it that really engages. Deep abstract ambient listening pleasure.
ACID TED 