Skal_Ghost presents ten slices of life. Merging and submerging both artists’ vast skills within the realm of the C15, Arovane and Taylor Deupree display its palette of sounds seamlessly.
Synthesis and sound exploration
Continuing with collaboration releases, 12k merges minimalist soundscapes and pushes forward with Arovane (ambient/IDM sound sculptor Uwe Zahn) and Taylor Deupree (sound artist, graphic designer, photographer, and 12k label operator). You can only imagine that with Zahn and Deupree front and center, something unusually unique will result. In this case, they came up with the idea of recording an album only with sound sources from the Nonlinear Labs C15 synthesizer that they both own. Noted as “synthesis and sound exploration,” this tagline isn’t too far off while diving into Skal_Ghost.
Trying not to divulge the entire press-release as it accurately provides us with the scope and process in these ten pieces; Arovane and Taylor Deupree extract ultra-refined synth threads and micro-textured melodies that stretch and sway into the most serene and fog-laden landscapes, as the artwork seamlessly depicts. “Audd_Shut” opens with these captivating static spaces, carefully drawing us in, then roughening the ambient tones and drones with more turbulent moments while cascading in the background. As the album progresses, that certain ebb and flow is tangible, delicate, and often broken down into its finer elements. Tracks like “Pfad_Onset” provide brittle sound-bubbles and detuned clicks fluttering about, as if to carefully ease us into its arcane beauty. And yet, the brittleness mentioned only seems to coalesce on Skal_Ghost; its relaxed nature and background sonic shifts merge into creative entities where each piece could be its own soundtrack—”Neben_Ghost” provides this warmth and drifting aura. As the landscape changes, so too do the textures. “Etta_Lorn” is at once uplifting as it is tranquilized; the subdued white noise is smothered in nostalgia and comforting ambient swells as “Barn_Abnd” drifts through more organic field recordings of the outside world presented in a minimalist trajectory.
In all, Skal_Ghost presents ten slices of life. Merging and submerging both artists’ vast skills within the realm of the C15, Arovane and Taylor Deupree display its palette of sounds seamlessly, “blending organic and acoustic to experimental and electronic,” allowing for an overwhelming and utterly essential listening experience.
Skal_Ghost is available on 12k November 4, 2022. [Bandcamp]
