A gorgeous record that is sometimes hypnotic, commanding your full attention, and at other times fades into a subconscious place—an ambiance befitting the ambient genre.
Moving through regions of light and shadow
Away, Drifting In Silence’s sixth record over nearly fifteen years of work, exemplifies the sensation that Derrick Stembridge (the man behind DIS) hoped to evince with the project’s name: to create a sensation in the listener of moving through regions of light and shadow.
To say that Away is a calm record wouldn’t be accurate, but calm is what I think as I listen to it. There is a kind of gentle consideration that Stembridge gives to each instrument—digital or analog—that enters every piece on the record. Everything is given time and space to rise and fall, to express itself fully, even if it only lasts for a few moments. There are layers upon layers of sounds that weave together seamlessly to form each track, and those sonic elements seem individually simple, but there is an underlying complexity to them all. There are occasions in the album where you hear a sound only once, during a transitional moment or as a subtle addition to a swell or dip in the energy of the music. Even those sounds feel thoughtfully crafted, brief as they are.
Away is an album whose motion is subtle but substantial. Try as I might, I don’t think I can find a metaphor more appropriate than the apparent speed of some distant object drifting through space. It’s far away, and the distances are so vast, that it seems to be moving slowly…but the reality is that it’s a complex thing that moves rapidly, but with such fluidity that you can’t be sure how fast it’s moving at any given moment. It’s a gorgeous record that is sometimes hypnotic, commanding your full attention, and at other times fades into a subconscious place—an ambiance befitting the ambient genre.
This being the first Drifting In Silence record I’ve encountered, I can’t speak to its comparison to Stembridge’s other work, but if Away is any indication, he’s a master of subtlety who uses a deft and light touch to make his music feel organic, and alive.
Away is available on Labile.
