The magic of these solar colors appear little by little and then in great bounding leaps, with amethyst, emerald and sapphire shades emerging as we soar above the realms of the sea.
Wheeling and gliding over an endless ocean
The deepest parts of the ocean are essentially unknown to us. What goes on in those distant depths? Above, the sun shines fiercely in the sky, a ball of fire blazing, invoked by strong studio craft and a superhuman focus on technical precision. This magnificent radiance comes from some force with a great illuminating capacity. In the midst of this placid natural setting, sky and ocean compete with each other in force and tranquility, the sea offers the orb of night the loveliest mirror ever to reflect its image. The listening experience is about making discoveries, searching for things that are unusual and unexpected. Exploration is key to increasing our appreciation of the world of sound.
This work was composed by David Helpling, and he brought together some amazing talents. The cover art was created using macrophotography by Portland fine art photographer Brandt Campbell; the album was mastered by Howard Givens, a Renaissance man, crafting color, space, texture, time and geometric form, often beyond more traditional perspectives. The contributing musicians include vocalist Nidhi Bhatmuley, vocalist Miriam Stockley, electric cellist Matthew Schoening, and Benjy Wertheimer plays the Esraj, an Indian bowed stringed instrument.
On the album IN, the magic of these solar colors appear little by little and then in great bounding leaps, with amethyst, emerald and sapphire shades emerging as we soar above the realms of the sea. Scarcely blurred by their distance from us, the forms of some objects take shape before our ears. The sense of the undulating waves might sometimes take on the appearance of watered silk with wide stripes. From the first track, “Waves Dream of Breaking” (7:32), we are a gull soaring, wheeling and gliding over an endless ocean, sensing the shore and sky. At times it sounds as if ten thousand flashes of lightning are darting at the same time from every quarter of the vistas perceived by our ears.
So intensely expansive and so perfectly transparent is the surface of the deep, that we might believe the reflected surrounding universe to be a huge blue liquid ball, and our little spaceship is the one solitary material speck in all creation, floating in the midst of it. Under this gaze, the illuminated sky appears to catch on fire. Sky and water merge into a perfectly clean horizon line, “This Burning Sky” (7:20) is an expression of the natural love of life, some inward motions of joy, fingers on guitar and piano starting off, with gentle ethereal vocals and percussive textures. Vocalist Nidhi Bhatmuley brings us into high altitude to dive, and then rise again. The sun is bright and high, the vocals get more energized, new textures visit and vanish, and I shiver all over. The radiant orb clears the eastern horizon.
So intensely expansive and so perfectly transparent ::
My ears part liquid curtains that close again behind me, and my shadow fades swiftly under the water. We soar ever onward, and these vast plains of sand seem endless. Full orchestral strings sweep over us, a melodic pattern is established, a sparkling and cycling melody breaks open and gains more altitude in “Only What’s Been Taken” (6:26). The tiniest sounds are transmitted with a speed to which the ear is unaccustomed; I am always struck by the echo and reverb effects unique to this medium.
This sensation is difficult to understand for anyone who has never heard light beams so sharply defined, the sound of small, thin, white clouds with ragged edges, tinted with fine shades of ultramarine; then, off in the distance, it turns darker blue and fades in the midst of a hazy darkness. Above me, I can see the calm surface of the ocean. “Here All Along” (6:24) is denser than the atmosphere on land but almost as transparent, the guitar establishes a pattern, warm electronics build, electric guitar and keyboard scatters on high, the clouds colored in bright, wonderfully shaded hues, and then slowly fades.
Who else but guitarist David Helpling could portray the effects of this light through these translucent sheets of water, the subtlety of its progressive shadings into the ocean’s upper and lower strata? Melodic spinning bells are struck in a pattern, the guitar joins in, later electronic strings and interesting textures layer or just visit and vanish. Its variety is infinite. “Still As Stone” (6:12), and there is no empty stillness, actually there is constant motion and metamorphosis, there is building density and then release, returning to the bells and the patterns build and layer all over again. And you thought rocks had boring existences.
On the sixth track, Benjy Wertheimer plays the Esraj: “The Bliss You’ve Always Carried” (8:00) is a call and response in the ocean of bliss, fingers on electric guitar strings make patterns, which take form, melodic rainbows weave around the bowed instrument, sounding at times much like a vocal glissando. Midway, a percussive shaker establishes itself. The solar rays easily cross this aqueous mass and disperse its dark colors. This dazzling carpet is a vibrant mirror, throwing back the sun’s rays with startling intensity. The outcome is an immense vista of reflections that penetrate every liquid molecule.
Miriam Stockley adds exquisite, haunting, ethereal vocals to the next track, absorbing every color of the prism of the sea, except its blue rays, reflecting the latter in every direction and supporting a wonderful indigo tint. “Slipping” (8:00) takes place in a huge open area, decorated with free fall electronica that is rescued by a pattern that comes along, tambourines shake and change happens, the density opens up then returns to the vocal colors. During this crossing, the sonic palette continually lavishes us with the most marvelous sights.
Heavy clouds pass above us, an icy studio sound forms and fades, modulated by the changing densities of the long oceanic swells, and breaking crests proliferating over the surface of the water. What creatures inhabit, or could inhabit, these regions? Sometimes giving off a phosphorescent glow, drifting between a double ultramarine of sky and water, it announces the presence of a pack, or shoal, of ice. “The Cold Distance Between” (5:55) features a keyboard orchestra, continuing the big open sound of the astronomical soaring over oceanscapes through the open sky, rolling slowly as the music sweeps along. Mists are rising from the cold surface of the water.
An immense vista of reflections that penetrate every liquid molecule ::
Matthew Schoening’s electric cello vibrates resonantly, it glides through the watery mass, tension builds and the vista expands. “You Already Are” (6:42) leaves us marveling at these beauties of sea and sky, after emerging like a flying fish, and falling back into the sea, making the waves leap to prodigious heights.
I hear an mbira pattern that soon expands into greater depths, occasionally the beat stops and leaves us shimmering in mid air, then the beat returns and the symphonic patterns once again build, perhaps a piano replaces the mbira as the main instrument, “Following the Lines” (5:30). The edge of its light sweeps over the sea in an immense, highly elongated oval, condensing at the center into a blazing core whose unbearable glow, diminished by degrees outward.
“Bending Towards the Night” (8:21) has a shimmering opening, high altitude electric guitar, almost beyond conjecture. It no longer simply illuminates the water, it is liquid light, revealing the movements and the beauty of their forms, aerial arcing focus, bells and keyboards that build a melody that stops and starts, builds and releases, alive and at large, I couldn’t help seeing the actual shadows of large birds passing overhead, swiftly skimming the surface of the sea.
What an indescribable sight, and what a variety of settings and scenery where these reefs and volcanic islands seem to dance “In Waves of Fire” (5:49). There, in natural wonder, the watery mass offers some thrilling and dreadful scenes to my ears. There is lots of motion, cymbals splash, bells chime and keyboards shuffle, beats stratify, the cycle builds and then explodes and soars into a wider, higher atmosphere.
Layers of clouds cloak the sky and leave only a few stars in view. Like the flocks of old Proteus, King Neptune’s shepherd, herds graze, bigger and faster than any whales and without fear on the ocean’s submerged immense prairies. The entire sky, although lit up by stellar radiation, seems pitch-black in comparison with the whiteness of these waters. As far as the ear can see, the ocean seems lactified. “I Too Am Coming Home” (6:44) has a refreshing strength and affirming strength. Miriam Stockley’s vocals might be prayers, above water as well as under the water, shafts of electric light are transmitted with incomparable clarity. I know no other way of expressing this idea.
The ocean depths still remain a largely unexplored part of the planet, and form a relatively undiscovered domain. Sonic exploration is about making discoveries, searching for things that are unusual and unexpected, and there is nothing quite like flight: the freedom, the solitude, the beauty. And with the right wind, you can become one with the sky. At our feet: dazzling tracts of silver and white. Over our heads: a pale azure, clear of mists. The uneven surface of the ocean is due to localized gravity effects from mountains and valleys along the depths.
Sparkling symphonic electronic music, primarily performed on electric guitar and keyboards, sometimes joined with bowed strings and sometimes with vocals, the feeling is perfectly cinematic. IN was born from finding wonder in the tiniest of places, a massive double album composed over ten years. Think of a place where only one square inch of forest holds a world of color and life. On this miniature scale, it sometimes appears that a shard of lichen is a monument, a twig is a skyscraper, and an arm’s length embraces an entire universe. IN is an exploration of that range of paradoxical infinite-microscopic space, yielding a new fantasy world to wander.
David Helpling is a California based guitarist and keyboardist, recording artist specializing in ambient music and electronic music. He sonically embraces listeners with his signature guitar sound and textures: crafted synthesizers, powerful percussion and rich multi-dimensional recordings. Helpling is also a composer for motion pictures, providing several themes, scores, and ambient beds for numerous television, corporate, and interactive projects. His production company is named DHM Music Design.
Chasing the Ambient Guitar dream is a big one, and Helpling absolutely loves working with synthesizers and samplers. Ancient scholars were forever trying to describe the world, and they came up with their own explanations for why. IN is magnificent and direct, a close up observation, forever unlocking the mysteries where the wonder and excitement of exploration comes from. There is so much love in this music, we trust Helpling to take us to previously unencountered places, some are microscopic and within us, many of them are in deep space, some are under the sea; we venture with him to explore some places in unknown and extraordinary zones or regions of a universe previously hidden, where sometimes dwell huge glowing curious creatures no human has ever seen, answering the calls of gigantic celestial whales, and places where shimmering colors progress through rainbows of delight for the ears. You will be rewarded by the wonders emanating from this kaleidoscopic sonic hall of mirrors, IN.
IN is available on Spotted Peccary. [Site | Bandcamp | Other]
