Capturing light sources to create calm atmospheres, the featured compositions are as nostalgic as they are contemporary and offer quiet tidbits for a wonderful diversion.
A combination of soothing drones and drifts
Broken Chip’s The Quiet Garden, which saw a self-release in late May of 2024, comprises nine somewhat brief audio panoramas and the end product is a combination of soothing drones and drifts. The liner notes don’t apply much more than standard genre tags, however, “sleep” and “study music” will probably suffice to describe these short chapters. The album combines two compact Eurorack rigs, a few pedals, and Ableton Live—as pointed out by a close friend of Martyn Palmer (aka New South Wales, Australia-based Broken Chip)—who records under the cole alias. Aside from these creative tools, Broken Chip wanders over expansive soundscapes, gently guiding the listener through deftly constructed and delicately calm sound bubbles surrounded by distant field recordings that seldom feel fleeting but instead coalesce into a nine-piece ambient garden.
The Quiet Garden‘s characteristic looping ebb and flow has a timeless quality to it—almost translucent—as Broken Chip creates serene and immaculate audible flutter. Capturing light sources to create calm atmospheres, the featured compositions are as nostalgic as they are contemporary and offer quiet tidbits for a wonderful diversion.
Look for Broken Chip on Flaming Pines as well as forthcoming with Home Normal.
The Quiet Garden is available on Bandcamp.
