An adventurous foray into extraterrestrial techno and subsequent experiments in ambient sound design, but don’t let the genre tags skew any pre-conceived notions of Solipsism’s established panoramic modulation.
[Listen | Purchase] Subterranean bass, minimal dub-techno and layers of mechanized ambient flutter all seem to levitate in the background on this five-tracker from Glasgow-based Craig Murphy (aka Solipsism and Herb label-head). Known, perhaps, more for his abstract electronics and predominately spatial frequencies, Solipsism has taken a slightly familiar route with an emphasis on 4/4 delivery on It Could Be Clouds. Most cuts contain thumping beats eloquently tucked behind scattered alto-cirrus clouds (as the cover art might suggest) such as the title and opening tracks; the others flourish among thick synth lines and harmonic ambient tones, tune into “Hey! You Starseed Wanderer” and “Return of the Astronaut” for prime examples. These are cerebral manifestations of timeless audio sculptures that grow and decay gracefully on the ears, however, “The Space Between Atoms” is an emotive if not atmospheric time capsule that is less about percussion and more about silent propulsion acting as a bridge to introduce the drifting and eruptive finale, “Return of the Astronaut.”
It Could Be Clouds is an adventurous foray into extraterrestrial techno and subsequent experiments in ambient sound design, but don’t let the genre tags skew any pre-conceived notions of Solipsism’s established panoramic modulation. There’s much more buried deep within Solipsism’s oeuvre that culminates within 40-minutes and unfolds just in time for the cloud cover to dissipate. Listen to the audio stream below of all featured tracks as they gradually emit a low-frequency pulse with high-pressure readings.
It Could Be Clouds is out now on Herb. [Listen | Purchase]
