Xurba :: Zelun Somniates (Electric Studios)

Drifting deeper into ambient sound fields, UK-based Will Brazier-Smith, recording as Xurba, traces hauntological contours across Zelun Somniates, a sequence of ten pieces shaped from slow-moving undercurrents.

Suspended in a gauzy, otherworldly glow

Drifting deeper into ambient sound fields, UK-based Will Brazier-Smith, recording as Xurba, traces hauntological contours across Zelun Somniates, a sequence of ten pieces shaped from slow-moving undercurrents. A swell of shadowed atmosphere rises at the outset: “Perplexicon” and “Dubterranea” gesture toward cavernous zones of exploration, while “Orange Haze Dub” pulses forward, suspended in a gauzy, otherworldly glow. In recent years, this has become his refuge.

Minute surfaces shift and erode, evolving in quiet corrosion. “Ditton Millionaires” descends into seventeen minutes of dim illumination, threading darker filaments through open space, dissolving and reassembling as one unbroken arc. Waves fold into waves; a weightless current carries faint flickers that hover at the edge of perception. Solitude lingers, patient and immersive.

Gradually, rhythm stirs. Downtempo propulsion ripples through “Azlucidian Symbolizr,” followed by dub-ambient surrealism in “Peverel Echo Services,” where echoes bloom and recede like distant signals. Each composition feels utterly expansive, as though concealed chambers reside within others, waiting to surface.

Closing piece “Anaesthesia (Part 2),” extending beyond thirty-five minutes, unfolds as a world unto itself. Fragmented illbient strands stretch outward, scattering into a celestial spectacle that mirrors opening passages and completes an enveloping journey. What remains is a surreal study in ambient architecture, crafted by a sound sculptor content to linger miles beneath our feet.

Zelun Somniates is available on Electric Studios. [Bandcamp]