What’s at the core of this EP is that Valance Drakes allows the listener to explore the unknown, to imagine another dimension of sound, and to simply keep asking questions.
A universal sound sculpture
What more is there to say about Valance Drakes and the soundscapes he creates? What more is there to say about how he’s able to extract infinitesimal amounts of sonic beauty from microscopic glitch elements? What more can be said about how Valance Drakes examines the far recesses of his machinery to display eerie yet serene soundtracks? What more can be said about his ability to unfold otherworldly and shuffled DSP landscapes? What more can be said about the dreamlike state of consciousness Valance Drakes puts us through? How in the world can five audio photographs take you to another plateau? How is it possible that with each release we find these elevated and magical musical windows? Within each glitch, within each beat, and within each surreal atmospheric layer, I find myself asking these questions over and over again. And what’s interesting is that the answers to these questions are not important at all. What’s at the core of this EP is that Valance Drakes allows the listener to explore the unknown, to imagine another dimension of sound, and to simply keep asking questions. And if left in a constant loop, the answers really do not matter as the result is left for interpretation and perpetual motion—a universal sound sculpture that is Not Taking This Gratitude For Granted.
Not Taking This Gratitude For Granted is available on Abstrakt Reflections. [Release page]