All we can really know is that it’s all about feeling. This is not the time to postulate, discuss, or even dissect the sounds herein, instead, it’s more about the focused core of organic electronics that motivates the soul. (A philosophical inquiry into the structures of feeling exposed within Ventricle)
[Listen | Purchase] Time always pushes forward, and with time comes a new avenue for emotional electricity. This facet of music construction melts the mechanics of sound and replaces it with a sincerity that is soaked in fragile melodies. The same avenue doesn’t turn any abrupt corners, it propels itself to a limit that takes time to understand and unveil. Sure there are moments of utter strength delivered here, and an enduring scope of work that leaps above any genre or media projection. How so must a reviewer interpret such beauty when it’s all just a collection of memories? Memories inspired by sound, and sound that is pushed via channels of rounded industrialized fragments. How could such music be described without altering its meaning? And on that note, will any descriptive words really define where Ventricle takes the listener? It’s all subjective in nature, so perhaps it may be best to dive straight into the structures of feeling. This is the one emotion that is stirred independent of each listener. The feeling of times gone by, good or bad; memories locked in frequencies that cycle around the heart and mind. Ventricle is the vessel meant to be understood differently upon each ear and over time.
What then is all of this rambling really about? Why are you reading about an album that has almost reached its first birth day? What is it about Ventricle that moves emotion, drives the struggles we all face in life, and at the same time highlights the finer moments? Just what could it be, and how could fifty-three minutes of precision electronics drip into the memory banks so vividly? Is there just too much going on here to even comprehend or describe? Will the next year of listening to Ventricle unveil yet another reflective path we’ve forgotten? So many questions! And all we can really know is that it’s all about feeling. This is not the time to postulate, discuss, or even dissect the sounds herein, instead, it’s more about the focused core of organic electronics that motivates the soul.
Scraping color from the cover-art of this release, it’s the abstract hues of charcoal that gratifies the eyes. With further inspection of the graphics, it’s even more rewarding to learn that the music matches the art. Concrete, in and of itself never fully cures (the same holds true for this album), and it’s the exposed reinforcment-bar revealed on the cover that embraces a crumbled wall segment that puts a different perspective on this entire experience. The more we try to keep a polished external shell (ie. concrete facade), the more we expose the inner reinforcement-bar (ventricles) keeping the human framework in place. Ventricle, then, works from the inside out; revealing the chemical cohesion of ingredients and displaying itself uniquely with each listener. Visual motives do not completely justify the functions of this release, they simply reveal a shattered snapshot of what’s contained within.
The constant struggle and eventual pleasure in finding music such as Ventricle doesn’t come too often; so much that it’s a miracle any one human could even create it. Negate the past and you lose sight of tomorrow; this is where Dryft redefines its mission. Setting aside the fact that Mike Cadoo (aka Dryft) has a solid history of musical creation and discovery (does Bitcrush and Gridlock ring a bell?), it’s where the artist stands at this very moment that is perhaps the most important piece of this philosophical puzzle. It is clear, at least to these ears, that Dryft is in a good place. Having created such a vehicle for listeners to discover, uncover and realize, is perhaps the one reason this review has taken so long to write. Sure, the “ventricles of the heart function to pump blood to the entire body,” however, Dryft does everyone a public service by pumping blood into your subconscious self. It’s all of the imperfections of our reality that is exposed within Ventricle allowing us to fully realize faded memories in one swift listening experience. Real or not, this album concentrates on these flashbacks. The result is an infinite movement of audio sculptures that never quite explain themselves. Instead, they inspire new perspectives with each pass.
At the end of the day, it’s really not about describing sound (that’s just too difficult sometimes), it’s about drawing a picture of what you’re feeling. Ventricle allows this process to flourish gracefully and acts as the proverbial paint-brush with each and every listen. Give it time, and then give it more time to unfold. We’re always moving forward, and this album will be there when you need it most.
Ventricle is out now on n5MD. [Listen | Purchase]
