RL Huber :: Sea Legs (Self Released)

Meditation drones elevated in some sunny mountains

RL Huber of Eureka Springs, Arkansas has an orchestral sound, with abundant strings and pianos, and a classical-drone crossover feeling that is complex and subtle. The title “Sea Legs” makes me think of learning to walk through the relentless bobbing motion on a boat in rough waters; contrast this with the sound here, which makes me think of meditation drones elevated in some sunny mountains, a classical ambient avant-garde terrestrial sojourn. It is all very curious and lovely, in a very peculiar way.

The longer ambient composition has a sustained tone style, a slow series of long notes using what sounds like traditional classical string instruments. The entire orchestra focuses on one note that changes every few moments, slowly taking form, “Sea Legs” (9:17). Long silky drones that shift, now a piano emerges with the same concept, one note holds then another note comes along, the way that the notes change, the intervals are similar, creating the feeling of slow twilight music.

“Slowly Traversing the Wall” (5:14) is a drone / field recording piece, I hear a slow gravelly hiss, a distant foghorn, wind. There could be a brief sustained piano note in the mix, perhaps a slow drone nocturne. The closing track, “Silt and Sand” (3:49) begins with a bit of distortion and wistfulness, nestled with beloved bowed tones. The song title suggests that we are on the beach, feeling the textures of the grains.

“I have been recording experimental music since 2004 using project names such as Vopat, Olekranon and Sujo as well as my own name, Ryan Huber. I have recorded a number of albums in the electronic, noise and drone genres. Memories of Falling incorporates these elements with a more restrained approach. I have been influenced by modern artists such as John Cage, Tim Hecker and Anna Thorvaldsdottir.”

There are nine RL Huber releases available on Bandcamp, including Sea Legs, Themisto, Glass House Architecture, Dagos, Hafgufa, Forgiving Light, Return of the Cosmonaut, Memories of Falling, and Animan Edere.

Eureka Springs is a city in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas, known for the preserved Victorian buildings of its Historic District, such as the Palace Bath House, Basin Park Hotel and Crescent Hotel, all built around the city’s natural springs. In the nearby hills, soaring Thorncrown Chapel is a striking wood and glass church. To the south, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is home to big cats and bears.