de/Still illustrates a dystopian and otherworldly soundscape and evolves into more organic, almost tribal spheres where the industrial edges fade into tuned and detuned layers of dust and debris.
Mesmerizing, dizzying and filled with hypnotic flutter
There are industrial shards piercing through these dozen tracks—textured, broken and sizzling in some kind of translucent ambient glue. Nostalgic memories wash by unknowingly and with a sense of serenity and confusion.
Broken synthesizers and flickering soundscapes of solitude, guitar strands appear, disappear and fade into the ether. Scattered and crumpled, a few bumpier pieces, or perhaps more turbulent moments, also appear on de/Still. Dreamlike arrangements, strange and muffled voices filter somewhere in the background and yet Nathan Moody (a talented California-based sound designer, mastering engineer, and animator) continues to carve a path that is unique, tangled, and flowing.
It goes without question that each composition is tethered in several found sounds, experimental drones and tones, and yet you can easily hear a progression from the beginning as de/Still illustrates a dystopian and otherworldly soundscape and evolves into more organic, almost tribal spheres where the industrial edges fade into tuned and detuned layers of dust and debris. Subtle blips and bleeps morph into sonic behemoths as if coming to life and drifting into the horizon. That sense of muddied collage electronics and downtempo strains continue to lurk in the background—deformed analog synthesizers collapse our field of vision as it becomes a blurry haze. Disturbingly surreal and yet captivating all in the same moment, de/Still slices through a myriad of deconstructed noise and keeps us transfixed start to end. Mesmerizing, dizzying and filled with hypnotic flutter.
de/Still is a musical score for photography. Composer/musician Nathan Moody was asked by photographer TJ Norris to aurally interpret his Urban Juxtapositions series.
de/Still is available on Flag Day. [Bandcamp]
