Don’t let the lack of creative title names fool you. The first EP was
enough for me to sit up and take notice, but the second two only
confirmed my suspicions that Freescha is one of the premiere artists for
cinematic ambient music with a groove. Freescha wins you over with
aural flattery rather than pounding you into submission, often
surprising you with wonderful variations in melody that you don’t
expect.
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From the slow, quiet beats of “Bulb” which still somehow keep you
bobbing your head, to the lush “Making Oranges,” which has all of the
mystique and pending adventure of a John Barry theme, Volume 1 (12″,
released 1999) is the soundtrack to the best of your twisted slow-motion
dreams.
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Volume 2 (CD, 2000) is the most film-scoreish of the bunch, and is
still my favorite. It opens with “Lift,” a sweeping auditory journey
that surprises you with new scenery around every corner, each better
than the last. “Big as a Mouse” is Freescha’s first excellent use of
one of Beaumont Hannant’s fave techniques: reveal layers of a song
slowly and separately, then combine them to create something greater
than the listener could imagine. Freescha does this with their melodies
so effectively, it’s like a lover teasing you ever so slightly before
pushing you over the edge. The EP keeps this up for almost its entire
duration.
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Volume 3 (12″, 2000) continues the teasing but in a darker vein. The
beats are fatter and more distorted, the melodies sparser but no less
gorgeous, and as the shortest EP of the three it really leaves you
gasping for their first full-length release. “Pequod” is the highlight,
using some of the same samples as “Bulb” from ‘Volume 1,’ but with a
surprising new twist, making the two tracks perfect bookends for the
Self-Titled series. If you like your music to cover new ground, let
these tracks take you there… you’ll be amazed at what you find.
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