Foxy Digitalis
Rorschach-like imagery bleeds into the hollowed-out, esoteric sound waves of “Reality Opposition” to form lasting impressions in our minds. Christina Giannone’s latest for Room 40 grinds through tactile darkness. Quiet crackles creep through our periphery, pointillist remnants from a spectral, unconscious stream. This feels like being encased in ice as the temperature keeps dropping, and […]
There’s anticipation and a sense of drama from the opening chord progressions of schntzl’s “Silk” echoes in the rollercoaster-ride video. Fading neon tinges the palette as tension builds into a combination of joy and wistfulness, searching for sentimental dreams around the next turn. Rhythms become a cascading catharsis with alternating patterns glossing through the simmering […]
No matter how far we travel, our worlds are quite small. Fragments of our spirit and our memories may spread across celestial distances, but our hearts inhabit little space. “Sessilia” – the first single from Laura Naukkarinen’s ninth album, 5 x 4, recorded on the famous Buchla 200 system at Elektronmusikstudion EMS Stockholm over five years […]
Front page photo by Ryan Easter Saint Abdullah and Jason Nazary’s “Evicted In The Morning” is a welcome surprise filled with emotive textures and an evolving resonant language. Within a sparse framework, the trio carves out networks of interconnected spaces where messages flicker in one place before disappearing and moving on. Tempos rise and fall, […]
Gears are grinding themselves into dust beneath leaden drones and stochastic guitar textures. “Aphotic I” uses sonic deep dives to explore vast, dark expanses. Ulrich Krieger’s fascination with the ocean’s depths rings through the resonant echoes and harsh aqueous fields. “The aphotic zones (from Greek: lightless) relate to the oceanic depths roughly between 1.000 – […]
A mirror is a canvas. A mirror is a void. Cruel Diagonals shatters the barriers between perception and reality on “Vestigial Mythology,” with Megan Mitchell’s voice conjuring ancient spells via electric rituals. Bass rattles the inner sanctum, a shockwave blooming within spiraling vocal arrangements teeming with mantras obscured by doubt. Cascading musical shapes climb across […]
While muted arpeggiations drip through whimsical concrete, elastic synth leads, and parched saxophone textures perch on a golden pedestal tilted toward the stars. “Wave Nature” is packed with melodies and intersecting timbres that create sonic worlds of wonder. The Israeli-born saxophonist and composer explores these new spaces through whimsical expression situated within intricate arrangements, and […]
Contemplative guitar melodies point their compass toward open spaces where things move at a slower speed. Desolation may not be the intent, but a thread unwinding throughout “Delusion Drive” finds its way into the wilderness anyway. In the video, directed by Van Auken and filmed by Robert Delahanty, a narrative reflects on the weight of […]
Whenever I listen to “Pensacola Arches,” I think I am losing it. This woozy, wondrous pop madness is hypnotizing and perplexing in equal measure. Repeating mantras are put through a blender and baked on the backs of sidewalk paint masterpieces and long-forgotten suburban heroes. Push hard enough, and these globular basslines will make it through […]