Inchoate – sommeil raisonné
Toronto’s Inchoate (defined by Merriam-Webster as “being only partly in existence or operation, imperfectly formed or formulated”) creates improvisational “audio sculptures” using “component chains of signal generation, effect, and decay.” I’m not entirely sure how that works, but what I do know is that “sommeil raisonné,” the first track on Inchoate’s new album myriadic //, is a pleasingly mysterious array of deteriorating synth twinkles that would fit right in on a Freescha or Casino Versus Japan album. If “sommeil raisonné” is “imperfectly formed or formulated,” then I’d say that perfection is overrated.
Update, per the artist himself: “Myriadic // is an album that will grow daily, making this a 30 track album by the end of the month.” So, the album itself is inchoate, truly living up to its creator’s ethos.
Seven Day Rain – Backworld
Everything Begins Again…, an album by jazz outfit Seven Day Rain, has just been released after sitting in the vaults for 31 years. A lush, psychedelic odyssey of drums, bass, keyboards, and sax, it hearkens back to the electrified drive of Weather Report and Soft Machine. “Backworld” is expansive, spacey, and propulsive, an excellent listen for those who like their jazz on the cosmic scale.
Private Mountain – Just A Strange World
A few years ago, I climbed Helvellyn, a mountain located in the UK’s Lake District. It was offseason, April or May, and I was the only person in my hostel for the two days I stayed there. I decided to make the climb on an overcast day, and I ended up hiking right up into the middle of a cloud. There was nobody else on the trail that day, and I couldn’t see more than twenty feet in any direction. When I looked over the side of the mountain’s famous Striding Edge, I saw nothing but swirling fog below me. This sight, combined with the fact that I hadn’t encountered another human being for two days, made it feel like I was the only person in the world. UK ambient artist Private Mountain may have been with me in spirit that day, because the effect created by the music on their new album Blue Mountain (Neotantra) is eerily similar to that created by the Helvellyn experience. “Just A Strange World” is starkly beautiful track, its degraded synth chords gradually building from ghostly Disintegration Loop reflectiveness to the sweeping grandeur of an old film score. This album will turn even the most mundane surroundings into your own private mountain.
Bored In Pittsburgh 