Whereas most artists struggle to go back to that initial sound, Babe Rainbow has quit the schizophrenic experimenting of his early days and has now settled into the minimally yet expansive sounds of ambient music. Needless to say, it’s a nice fit.
In 2010’s Shaved (Warp), Babe Rainbow sounded both aggressive and dangerous. An artist ready to take some chances with beats that didn’t sound out of place back in the L.A. beat scene. Musically, one could say that Babe Rainbow both looked and sounded confused; an alien without a place. Eventually Babe Rainbow would sign with Warp and sound even more dumbfounded. The music video for the track begins with a POV shot of a guy entering his house wearing a monkey mask and promptly taking it off. In the next scene, we see the guy in the bathroom and then leaving the house. Meanwhile, the music seems to be morphing, constantly trying to find itself. And just when it starts to settle into a recognizable pattern, it ends.
Years have passed and Babe Rainbow has found itself. Whereas most artists struggle to go back to that initial sound, Babe Rainbow has quit the schizophrenic experimenting of his early days and has now settled into the minimally yet expansive sounds of ambient music. Needless to say, it’s a nice fit.
Most of these tracks on Falling Apart, from the satisfying “Dub Music” to the strangely affecting “Heavy Set” have what I would like to call an emotional through-line. What that means is that despite some off the cuff experimentation, so natural to Babe Rainbow as to many IDM-inspired artists, the album has its roots in melancholia, a feeling that doesn’t quite leave despite the more upbeat tracks. In an interview with Fact Magazine, he commented:
“So though I’m happy, I also feel a sense of melancholy caused by that uncertainty. And I think that feeling is apparent on Falling Apart: it’s upbeat, but maybe a little depressing.”
What he calls depressing I call affecting and this is one weirdly affecting album. This is especially true on the tracks where he manages to use few elements, yet the airy spacey feeling is there. The more upbeat tracks, however, are not free from BR’s moving touch as album highlight “Things That Were Not” resoundingly proves. Falling Apart, ironically, has an artist coming together. Let’s just hope three more years don’t pass without getting to hear more.
Falling Apart is available on Kinky Beggar.
[itunes id=”878532487″]
