DeGiorgio and Prendergast deliver ambient techno with an unmistakable modern angle and style. AsOne² cannot be rushed, it is an album that demands the listener to slow down, stop and ponder.
Broad sweeps and gentle rhythmic ebbs
Kirk DeGiorgio is adding something new to his music. In his thirty year career, this pioneer of British techno has always been innovative. If he wasn’t founding trailblazing labels and sourcing new talent, he was making his machines sing to an unheard tune. In recent years, the focus has been on his own music and his As One project. Following The Unveiling, the pioneer is back on De:tuned with a full album in the form of AsOne². The addition to his music you ask? Catherine Siofra Prendergast.
Predergast has been working with DeGiorgio on a number of his live performances with enviable results. Known as a visual artist, the Irish creative has been drafted in to bring a revived sense of melody and harmony to proceedings with fascinating results.
Broad sweeps and gentle rhythmic ebbs introduce “Neptunium.” Dauby basslines arrive with just a hint of acid, that hint bringing balance to the soaring keys that sail ever higher in this cerebral excursion. Tempos are reduced for the astral introspective “Axiom” before crystalline elegance of “Source Cubit.” Ample room is given to the tracks on offer, eight across the double LP. Tracks are given both time and space to organically develop, such as the orchestral ambient brilliance of “Find My Way” that simply must be savored.
Sweetened strings and arcs of light ::
“Vermillion” opens the second record. Echoes of bleep are submerged in aquatic tones, soaked basslines and fragile rhythm patterns in this nurturing piece. “Quantum State” is introduced from a different angle. Complex beats and distorted notes are in the foreground, sweetened strings and arcs of light countering in the backdrop. The partnership grows more bolder with his compositions as the album progresses, ideas and structures are experimented with to produce new avenues for exploration. “AMO” opens with a playful line of acid curls and hi-hats. From this foundation a rich and textured work is created, keys float and oscillate as scales drift ever skyward. The finale is a fitting tribute to Tangerine Dream’s Klaus Schulze. “Goodbye Mr Schulze” adopts the orbiting loops employed by the German artist with inspiration being drawn from past works and future visions.
DeGiorgio and Prendergast deliver ambient techno with an unmistakable modern angle and style. AsOne² cannot be rushed, it is an album that demands the listener to slow down, stop and ponder. A stunning collection from a musician who just seems to get better and better, an artist who continues to seek and dares to find.
AsOne² is available on De:tuned. [Bandcamp]
