East Portal is the duo of John Atkinson and Patrick Taylor and on their self-titled debut, electro-acoustic explorations become angular playgrounds of washed-out neon where reflections are memories, and memories last forever. “Untitled #3” is an inquisitive lamentation built primarily on bass, clarinet, and pedal steel. For this project, Taylor played most of the instruments while Atkinson manipulated and processed those sounds digitally. The organic tones of Taylor’s instrumentation drift into new planes with Atkinson’s soft touch. Emotive clarinet passages find solace in the glacial, ethereal drones singing beneath the bass’s subtle friction. It’s such an inviting piece of music, the synthetic and organic palettes intertwining in surprising and beautiful ways. Throughout the video, color palettes shift and imagery is blurred, heightening the longing for places we’ve been, whether it was yesterday or in a past life, and for the emotional connections left behind.
East Portal’s s/t album will be released on April 8 via AKP Recordings. Pre-order below.
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