A three-man team that generates a wondrous sound that combines field recordings seamlessly with synths and live instrumentation, which together forms a spectacular, organic sound that flows effortlessly between ambiance and groove.
Our endless aural journey returns us to Iceland, where excellent music flows like water, and gifted, creative musicians are more common than a dish made of white fish. Stereo Hypnosis is a three-man team that generates a wondrous sound that combines field recordings seamlessly with synths and live instrumentation, which together forms a spectacular, organic sound that flows effortlessly between ambiance and groove.
Morphic Ritual is Stereo Hypnosis’ fifth album, and has the control and maturity that bespeak the combined 40-plus years of musical experience of father-son team Óskar and Pan Thorarensen in combination with Thorkell Atlasson. Its three tracks add up to a record over forty minutes long, thirty minutes of which is “Multiply One,” the middle track. The opener, “Time Ends” drips, swooshes, and hums, sneaking gorgeous strings and guitars into the mix atop sporadic shakers and birdsong. All together it creates a very full sound, one that is incredibly pleasant and simultaneously edged with tension created by the whine of the backing strings. It’s a strong introduction, which fades into a stuttering bit of distorted violin, seamlessly transitioning into “Multiply One” which starts to build right out of the gate, adding a bass line that’s just aching for drums, which enter, giving us the groove we want without making us wait too long. Despite the fact that “Multiply One” is presented as a single track, I think it’s very clearly divided into several sections, which neither subtract nor add to the overall feeling of the record, but I would be more able to identify those pieces of music I prefer over others on the record. “Multiply One” moves back-and-forth between sections of groove and ambiance, creating an elegant balance in their shifting, changing passage. The closing tune, “Time Begins,” ramps up the tension, dissonance, and tremolo that were present in “Time Ends,” but the release into a set of horns, matched with a wahed guitar, carrying the album into a close whose last notes act as a perfect melodic cadence to the record in its entirety.
What stands out most in the record is the synchronization of simple guitar melodies with melodies from a wide variety of different sources, which prevails as a theme in the album. These highly accessible guitar melodies guide the listening experience, while the combination of field recordings with excellently-constructed synths and percussion adds a layer of sophistication that offers something new over each repeated listen. Morphic Ritual is, when all’s said and done, a fantastic record.
Morphic Ritual is available on Extreme Chill.
