Dublin-based sound artist Ian Nyquist returns with a new album (Gilded) that bridges ancestral traditions and modern experimentation. Blending reimagined Irish instruments, ambient textures, and hypnotic rhythms, he crafts a lush, transportive soundscape both organic and otherworldly.
Ancestral echoes meet modern soundscapes
Ian Nyquist is a young sound artist and multi-directional composer from Dublin. After two memorable releases on indie labels LAAPS and Eilean Rec—whose enchanting soundscapes are magnified by mystical, chiaroscuro resonances—this sound producer returns with a new album deeply rooted in the cultural ancestry of his region. He revisits and reinvents the use of traditional instruments while also exploring the sonic potential of the voice.
The stylistic path is intentionally at a crossroads, fusing traditional elements with modern techniques to create compelling, accessible, and lush sound textures that ravish the ear. We can note the thoughtful use of Irish native instruments, such as drums whose re-designed percussive timbres melt seamlessly with multi-layered ambient sequences. Consequently, the listener is immersed in pulsating, playful, soulful orchestrations imbued with a vibrant, magnetic aura.
The sound signature can be summarized as follows: ethereal abstractions meet musique concrète patterns—bridging the organic and the synthetic, as suggested by the cover artwork. Throughout the album, the music oscillates between airy, dream-pop-oriented songs and hypnotic electronic sequences. These organic, beat-laden, cascadian percussive grooves and oceanic driftscapes envelop the listener in a spiritually nurturing bath.
Ephemeral beauty, serene pads, hypnotic organic drum beats, and primordial harmonies captivate the listening experience. Gilded develops a ritualistic-tinged facet that enhances the album’s shimmering musical purpose.
All in all, this is a transportive, evanescent, and subtly moving post-ambient album—dreamlike and introspective—with a strong focus on discovering new sounds for old instruments. Between Bill Laswell, Laraaji, Floating Points, and Caribou, Nyquist’s work finds its own luminous space.
Gilded is available on Flood. [Bandcamp]
