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Zachary Gray :: Trippin’ / In Arrears (A Person Disguised as People)

Written by Alan Lockett on

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Zachary Gray is back with Trippin’ / In Arrears, in A Person Disguised as People’s A/B Series, a 2-track appetizer for the Trippin’ LP, forthcoming in Spring 2025.

Its surface energy peels to reveal deeper reflective undercurrents

Continuing exploration of themes and sounds of his recent, Suburbia EP, (igloo’view), “Trippin’” is a doleful brooder, replete with melodic synth lines recalling early 90s Warp luminaries (cf. Black Dog, Plaid), layers of rhythm and harmony making for an uneasy introspective tenor. Along the way its melodic core gradually shreds, coming to neo-orchestral closure (cf. late Clark) with a deft touch in blending electronic production detail and filmic affect. “In Arrears,” in contrast, sets out brighter, intricate beat skitter channeling a more ludic IDM variant, though upbeat drive and spatial melody slowly cede to a darker inward finish. The subtle dissolution into shadow mirrors Gray’s broader work, in that its surface energy peels to reveal deeper reflective undercurrents.

In sum, the Newfoundland-based electronic composer/producer, colluder with notable ambient/electronic peers like Benoît Pioulard, Montag, and Sea Oleena, harnesses an interplay between textures, layers and moods with his own life’s dualities—urban-coastal, past-present, for a release bearing eloquent testimony to a personal and contemporary, yet universal and timeless, music.

Trippin’ / In Arrears is available on A Person Disguised as People [Bandcamp]

 
 
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I do reviews and commentary mainly on ambient/drone, but also operate within a beat-driven triangle whose coordinates are the more adventurous ends of techno, post-dub, and IDM. To illustrate, this week the Loco stereo has flowed with sounds from Steve Roach through Stephan Mathieu to Kangding Ray—a spectrum of space-ambience pulse'n'atmo. I can mainly be read on igloomag.com these days, though you might've come across occasional insertions on the Lend Me Your Ears blog, and I was a contrib to the now defunct e/i mag and Furthernoise. Beyond listening and reviewing, I engage otherwise with music, with outcomes in the form of self-assembled mix creations and audio-doodle under the moniker albient (via Soundcloud and Mixcloud). Based in Bristol, epicentre of 90s’ Trip-hop and ’00s Dub-step in the Wild West of England, I guess a person’s day job might be considered salient to who they are, so let it be known I earn a crust in language/literature and education, though, tbh, you’ll find more of me in the former than the latter.