Lo Recordings proves once more its ability to extend the field of modern-day electronic experimentation, always bringing to the fore a community of talented sound artists with broader visions in terms of musical language.
A total sound-healing experience
Hatchback is the atmospheric, melodious ambient project of California-based artist Samuel Milton Grawe. Hatchback was discovered years ago by the amazing Lo Recordings, with albums that come across as minimal poptronica, new age, and ambient orchestration, always connected to spirituality, cosmic energies, and the cult of nature, also proposing a dialogue between ascending meditative states and soundscapes. This new album carries on the stylistic path encountered previously.
The opening theme titled “And The Walls Became The World All Around,” offers a lusher version of new age music with very relaxing synth lines, suspended, echoing piano notes, natural elements taken from green field recordings, and other soothing sound waves. The self-titled track delivers a sumptuous, shining, deeply introspective, and meticulously crafted ambience based on sinuous, windy acoustic waves, electronic scintillations, and discreet, allusive minimal pulses. Despite its apparent conventional ambient façade, it is hard to describe in words how emotionally powerful this track is; it is soothing but also more somber than the previous piece, utterly transportive to the point that it can give you shivers. Pure drone ambient excellence. Love how the micro-sounds interact so beautifully and naturally in the global sonorous canvas. The album closes with an intriguing surreal pop instrumental track with playful minimal sequences and retro-ish electronic patterns, but rendered with modern equipment, a bit like spacey ambient material from Emeralds and progressive electronic music in general.
Enveloping sonic meditation ::
All in all, Phaser For The Ocean, Chorus For The Moon is a sweetly moving, hypnotic, and deliciously enveloping sonic meditation that might appeal to fans of Mike Brooks, Deuter, Klaus Wiese, and Paul Dresher’s endless journeys in slow motion and ethereal electronic vibes, also to listeners nostalgic for some material from Innovative Communication, Harmonia, Cluster (Sowiesoso era), Ashra (New Age of Earth), as well as Japan’s early days in zen-inspired minimalism and environmental music (Stomu Yamashta, Haruka Nakamura, Yoshimura, Hosono, et al). A very good and peaceful ambient album to drift along with delicacy and emotion.
A total sound-healing experience that is highly recommended in this time of instability, uncertainty, and existential crisis, encouraged by war anxiety in a collapsing world order. Lo Recordings proves once more its ability to extend the field of modern-day electronic experimentation, always bringing to the fore a community of talented sound artists with broader visions in terms of musical language.
Phaser For The Ocean, Chorus For The Moon is available on Lo Recordings. [Bandcamp]
