When Brian Eno invented the ideas of Ambient music (by its very nature, no one could honestly lay claim to inventing Ambient music itself), the key factors were that it could be ignored by the listener, or completely blend into its environment, without losing any of its value. Indeed, for Eno, it was value added if the music did achieve these feats. Of course, there are very obvious pitfalls for a genre thus defined, and all manner of new-age, or thoughtless, or just straight bland dross has been passed as Ambience in the proceeding decades. Sublamp, thankfully, avoids these problems and has offered here, on his new album Shiverland, a peaceful, yet texturally complex wash of sound. Ostensibly a drone based work, Shiverland gives many signposts to its inspiration in the track titles. Pieces such as ‘Lichen Song’, ‘Airsnowtree’, ‘Mountainhead’ and ‘Glimmerspeed’ are indicative, though not merely descriptive. There is a wintryness to the mild distortions fed through cavernous reverbs, though fine details – tape hiss, warm static bursts or machine whirls – sit in the immediate soundspace, not the far-off distance, giving contrasting contextual depth to the spacial elements. Nothing is allowed to drift aimlessly. There is a continual development of ideas and sonorities within each piece and the relatively short track lengths for this type of music assist Sublamp in keeping things sharp and focused. So, while the overall drone-like aesthetic may initially have you thinking this could just be background noise, it is difficult to disengage and treat the music as merely a wash, the details continually drag you back to attention. Indeed, in the end it’s debatable whether this is actually Ambient, by Eno’s definition. Yes, we’ve heard processed drones from Tim Hecker and Fennesz and the likes, but Sublamp has things of his own to add to the aesthetic, which he presents here in an engaging and enjoyable album.
- Cyclic Defrost
After a spate of unseasonably temperate weather here in Boston, the mercury’s finally dipped below freezing and it’s snowing like the dickens — so now is an appropriate time to listen to Shiverland. The album is by a Los Angeles-based musician named Ryan Connor, and, in spite of its title, it is not what one would typically describe as cold. Like Montreal drone artist, Tim Hecker, Connor blankets drifting melodies and pulsating drones in layer upon layer of static and off-white noise that is warm, enveloping, and also rather disquieting. As a rule, Connor’s music is less abrasive and dramatic than Hecker’s. It unfolds and intensifies gradually, as Connor seems focused on creating a distinct, subtly charged atmosphere within each piece. It’s quite lovely, if disquieting listen.
- Rare Frequency
As soon as I heard those whirling, saturated droning layers of sound on the first track new ears new eyes, I knew that Shiverland was a release that couldn’t be ignored. Ryan Connor joins the ranks of an increasing number of sound artists whose compositions are clearly influenced/motivated by the artist’s deep-rooted connection to nature be it topography, climate, life forms, or a combination thereof. Track titles such as Lichenstone, Animalface, Mountainhead, and Airsnowtree attest to this. The eight works comprising Shiverland take the listener deep into the territory of heavily textured ambient drones. This is not the ambient that Brian Eno wrote about in the sense of being background music that can be ignored. Shiverland demands the listener’s attention. Each piece is made up of layers of thick drones, white noise, passing melodies, and the cozy hiss of static which are begging to be culled out and heard. With so many rich details of sound rising above the droning base, there’s too much going on to for the music to be ignorable. Pervasive, warm, harmonious, and robust are good descriptors of the general ambiance here. Artists who music is aesthetically similar to Sublamp would include Tim Hecker and Michael Trommer (Sans Soleil). Even though from the title I expected something chilly and maybe a little uncomfortable, Shiverland is quite the contrary. Listening to it is more like basking in the rays of an early summer sun and being enveloped by the soothing warmth. Those beautiful drones bring about a relaxed mood while the richly textured details caress you and keep your attention.
- EARLabs
