There is no drippy bubbly burbling river sound, this is all synthesizer and guitar instrumentals, taking the listener to a place as large as the ocean might be. I am hearing the idea of water only depicted by shimmering flowing music, with touches of field recordings in rare moments.
Music is all about a planet of water, constantly in slow motion
I am swimming underwater, I think that I should be choking and unable to breathe but there is nothing to it, I feel peaceful and remarkably enthusiastic. The feeling is very relaxing and comfortable. The atmosphere, if that is what being underwater is now, an atmosphere where you move around freely in every direction including vertically, so I might just as well call it atmosphere, the atmosphere is dark and expansive, it goes on forever and there are some fantastic details I am leaving out just because there is so much to say. The weight is deep and slow, shadows forever gliding along.
There is no drippy bubbly burbling river sound, this is all synthesizer and guitar instrumentals, taking the listener to a place as large as the ocean might be. I am hearing the idea of water only depicted by shimmering flowing music, with touches of field recordings in rare moments. Maybe this world is sometimes seen from the sky, submerged and buoyant, from the surface bobbing so distant, then deeper into the dark and mysterious places below, drawing the listener further into the water’s journey, always slow and calming.
From the darkness comes a finger of dawn, we are high in the sky over the endless ocean. The water is alive, the motion is like a heartbeat in some ways, back and forth, “Tides” (3:43) a large area of moving water. There is a grumbling sound with the synthesizer drones, where the beach sands slip in the surf on a bright glorious day, a soaring sky. The second track, “Coastal” (4:32) has changes, starting from darkness and growing into a warm glowing ascension, soaring into the void, changing into another color, the expanse has increased, the air fades but the water is still unending. Moving between these contradictions of sky and deep water is easy and smooth, effortless and invisible. I think we went from the sky over the ocean, to higher in the sky, and now we are back down in the deep water. “Home” (5:19), feeling closer because the water makes the light appear differently than the air was in the first two tracks. Down here I feel calm and assured as if in a dream, there is a sense of slow alternating, all with an astral abstract electric guitar swaying. The water currents are alternating, like breathing in and breathing out, constantly in slow motion going back and forth.
A sighing current and always looking up into celestial skies ::
Now there is a new good soaring direction forward, beats take form, “Valley” (4:40) makes me think of where a river would be found, the water is always searching for all of the ways to go further down into every crack and opening. The next track, “Slower Waves” (5:58) returns us to the alternating deep water back and forth, a sighing current and always looking up into celestial skies, where there are forces always building new forms. “Motion Blur” (2:54) begins as if we were hearing a heartbeat in glass with light showing the details and motion, somehow a serious slow motion rumbling sound, and even now slowing more. The heartbeat continues forever as the atmosphere cools. Time passes. “Hours” (2:25) might bring a choir of the sky, light over the water showing slow serious glory, steadily rising but eventually forming a smooth arc, now submerging into the deep shadowy waters. Blending two worlds, “Divided” (7:12) emerges cautiously, gaining strength and wisdom, always calm and respectful. Midway through the track, how can I say this, maybe the light is changing now, opening again, a fresh flight on this new day. The distance calms me, I feel like I can try to relax and begin slowing down because eventually the night will continue soaring on forever. Music is all about a planet of water, constantly in slow motion.
Written and produced by Jason van Wyk and Joni Ljungqvist
Recorded during 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa, and Stockholm, Sweden
Mastered by lan Hawgood @ Mokoshi Mastering
Cover art by Karen Lynch @ Leaf and Petal Design
Volume One is available on n5MD. [Bandcamp | Site]
